Final Fantasy X: Beginnings
by mistiza
Summary: If every story must have an ending, every story must also have its beginning. Yuna begins her new life, with some pleasant surprises along the way. TidusYuna, a sort of continuation loosely based on FFX: Another Story. "This is our story now." Complete
1. The Beginning of Another Story

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X or any of its wonderful characters! Wait, but I DO own the game! That means I own it...but not really. 

Anyway :-) All you need to know is that "_italics"_ means the characters' _thoughts_. Here we go!

***************

It's been two years since the eternal calm was brought to Spira...

"_21...22...23..._"

It also has been two years since Yuna, Spira's savior, lost her beloved.

"_39...40... I can make it!_"

At age nineteen, the former summoner has found a new beginning for herself...or has she?

*****************

Final Fantasy X: Beginnings

Chapter One: The Beginning of Another Story

A fanfic by Noelle

*****************

Gasping for air, Yuna broke the surface of the water. "_Two minutes and forty one seconds! A new high!_" 

"Pretty good at holding your breath now, ya?"

"Not as good as you!"

Yuna looked back at the beach to see Wakka congratulating her with a big smile on his face. He was wearing the Auroch's uniform as always, and the rest of the Besaid Aurochs were practicing their passing techniques on the beach.

"Pretty soon, you'll be able to play with us in the sphere pool! Keep it up!" He said as he helped her out of the water. She wasn't wearing her summoner's outfit; it wouldn't do so well underwater. Instead, she wore a variation of Tidus' uniform, the women's uniform for the Zanarkand Abes with an added white hood. Seymour's recreation of Zanarkand from the thoughts of those in the Farplane was useful for quite a few things, and this uniform fit her form quite nicely, which was finally starting to gain some lean muscle from her daily blitzing.

Yuna blushed and smiled weakly. " Thanks _coach_, but you've got to promise me you'll get rid of that pudgy stomach! _ You're_ not the one who's having a baby you know!" She laughed as she poked at it a few times for fun.

"Hey hey! I compliment you and this is what I get?" Wakka said as he jokingly bent over in pain from Yuna's pokes.

She smiled and tried to hide her laugh to no avail. She still wasn't used to getting compliments, even after becoming the most famous person in Spira after defeating Sin. She laughed a little more when the other Aurochs started commenting on Wakka's flab, making him very embarrassed, and very red.

"_It's been two years since then. I can hold my breath underwater for two whole minutes now. It takes more than just physical strength, there's a few tricks to it that you need to figure out--I didn't understand when it was explained in words, but after a lot of practice I finally got it. I'd never thought there was any kind of trick to it--I couldn't afford to think about anything back then. _" 

She smiled wistfully as she once again remembered the reason she got into blitzball in the first place. "_Blitzing helps me forget and remember him at the same time; a little confusing but...at least it works to keep me happy._" At this thought, a familiar voice filled her memory. 

"Every blitzer knows, when you've got the ball, you've got to make the play!"

"_I've got everything going for me now...I can be anything I want but..._" She shook her head, trying to get rid of the thought. "_Now's not the time to be sad, there's always hope, isn't there?_" She turned around to face the sea, letting go a shrill whistle. It became an unconscious habit after awhile; it was her own special way of capping off her daily blitzball practice. She smiled gently as the waves lapped at her feet, today had been a good day, she thought happily, her new record giving her a sense of accomplishment.

"_The Eternal Calm. It's my two minutes and forty one seconds and Wakka's pudgy stomach. It's not much--just a quiet kind of happiness."_

*******************

Wakka and Yuna walked back to the village together, and upon entering Yuna's hut, they were instantly met by a very pregnant Lulu. 

"Yuna! You're dripping wet! Here, have a towel while I get you some clothes, ok?" Lulu just couldn't stop fussing around as she busied herself over Yuna much like a mother would. Instead of her usual braided black tresses, her hair was let loose, cascading down her back.

Yuna smiled at Lulu's antics while squeezing the extra water out of her tousled honey brown hair. Smiling. She'd been doing that a lot more often lately...maybe it was the anticipation of new life that made her..."_Not forget,_" she thought,"_... just happier. Maybe._" She watched as Lulu and Wakka shared a quick kiss, before Lulu disappeared into the bedroom to get Yuna's clothes.

Lulu was getting rounder and rounder with each passing day, (and Wakka too, in a different way...^_^) and Yuna became the recent target of her emerging maternal instinct. 

"_I guess I shouldn't complain, but somehow...I wish my life were like this too._"

"Hey spacey head! Change up! Remember, we're going to meet Rikku over at the salvage ship today so hurry up, ya?"

Wakka's voice brought her out of her reverie, and she realized that Lulu had brought her clothes already. They both looked at her with a little bit of worry, and with good reason. Two years ago, to put it lightly, Yuna fell into a deep depression. It's a wonder she didn't turn suicidal then, but then again, she had her guardians to help her out. 

Yuna saw this worry on the faces on her guardians, and knew exactly what they were thinking. "Ok, ok!" She said, instantly brightening up, (not to mention also startling Wakka and Lulu) "I'll be ready in just a moment!" she quickly walked toward her room to change, summoner garb in hand, then closed the door behind her.

After a short pause, Wakka broke the silence. 

"She still hasn't gotten over him, eh?" Wakka said in his thick accent, with a touch of sadness.

"She just needs time..." Lulu replied, "_Just like I needed time to get over Chappu._" She looked at Wakka lovingly and kissed his stubbly cheek. "I'm sure she'll find her own happiness someday."

Unknown to them, Yuna had unintentionally eavesdropped on their conversation, one foot inside her room and one foot out. With a little hesitation she stepped out, putting on her best smile. "_I still have to practice smiling...even if I'm feeling sad,_" she thought as she greeted her guardians, "I'm ready!"

"Alright! Let's go!" Wakka said enthusiastically. Lulu smiled one of her rare smiles for Yuna as well, and in an instant, they were off to the port to meet Rikku.

Yuna could tell he was still trying to cheer her up, but her thoughts kept wandering back to what she had dropped in on earlier. "_It's so easy to say that it'll get better with time, but...I don't think I could imagine myself loving anyone BUT him._" She sighed softly to herself and looked out to the ocean. "_I guess it's just a childish dream to think he'll come back to me one day, but for now..._" she thought as she allowed herself to smile at her memories of Tidus just for a little bit, "_I'll keep on hoping, and I'll keep on dreaming, because I know he's out there...somewhere. I just have this feeling about it._"

******************

Yuna, Wakka, and Lulu sat waiting on the port of Besaid for Rikku's arrival. Thing is, they've been waiting for a long time, and certain people (namely, Wakka) were starting to get pissed.

"She said she'd be here at...2:00 PM SHARP!!!" Wakka complained to no one in particular.

"Calm down," Yuna patted his shoulder and smiled weakly," it's only been... two hours?" she said as she laughed nervously.

Wakka suddenly stood up, startling Yuna in the process. "EXACTLY!"

Lulu, the calm person she always was, (when she wasn't in one of her mood swings that is) looked past her grumbling husband and a startled Yuna to see a ship approaching them. "She's here," she said with just a hint of amusement.

In a matter of minutes, the Al Bhed salvage ship docked and Rikku came running out, as hyper as ever. She ran straight up to Wakka, since she guessed he'd the only one she'd have to really apologize to. And, she guessed right. 

"I'M SOOOOO SORRY!" She said as she bowed deeply to Wakka, then taking a deep breath... "WeranintosomefiendsandthenBrotheraccidentallyshotmewithalightingboltagainandthenwehadafightandandand!!!!"

She was about to continue, but Lulu stopped her. "It's ok Rikku, that's enough," she said as she placed her hand on Rikku's shoulder. Turning to Wakka she gave him a look. "Right?"

"Right." He rubbed the back of his neck, blushing a bit because of his childish outbursts earlier. 

Yuna laughed at this, but barely had time to, as her cousin suddenly latched on to her for a tight hug.

"YUNIE! It's been sooooo long! I missed you!" 

Though a little starved for air, Yuna hugged her back. "But Rikku...it's only been a month or two!" 

Rikku loosened her death grip on Yuna just a bit, much to Yuna's relief. "Teaching people all about machina is fun! Next time I go, I want you to come if you're not busy, ok?"

"I'll try." She wanted to, but as Spira's savior, she was also its leader. Yuna discovered she had many responsibilities once she had brought the calm. One part of her was happy that she had this opportunity to make everyone happy, but another part of her wanted a peaceful happiness, for herself, that is. 

Rikku looked at her cousin's faraway look and remembered what she came here for. "Hey Yunie?"

"Yes?"

"I have a little something for you that I found on one of my trips..." Rikku hesitated, thinking of the right words to say. "I...I think you'll like it."

Rikku's odd behavior had Yuna intrigued. It wasn't often that Rikku acted seriously, or thought that long before she said something. Her cousin was impulsive, something she was not. Yuna watched as Rikku turned around and ran into the ship. Only a minute passed by before Rikku was bounding down to the port again, a movie sphere in hand. She rubbed it a bit, and gently handed it to Yuna. 

"What is it? Can I see?" Yuna asked quizzically.

"Yeah! Let's see what it is!" Wakka chimed in.

"Weeeeelll..." Rikku started, "Let me just say I found it somewhere in Luca, AND..." she looked menacingly at Wakka, "it's for Yuna ONLY."

Of course, when she said this, it made everyone want to see just what was on the mysterious sphere. Even Lulu perked up with interest.

"But yooooouu got to see it!!!" Wakka whined. Lulu smirked as his reaction.

"Let Yuna decide after she watches it ok?" She winked at Yuna and then proceeded to pull her cousin away toward the village. "Let's eat! I'm starving!"

With that, the whole group went back to the village to eat and turn in for the night.

*******************

Yuna changed into her PJ's for the night, eyeing the movie sphere Rikku had given her earlier that day. "_Boy, did she talk up a storm today!_" She thought as she started to brush her hair. "_It's the same old Rikku though, and I'm glad for it._" She sat down on her bed as she eyed the movie sphere again, the light from her desk lamp reflecting off its turquoise surface. She took a deep breath, and she could feel her heart pounding faster as she picked it up and held it in her hands. 

"Ok, let's see what this is all about." She activated it hesitantly and was amazed at what she saw...

It was an image of Tidus in the waters of Luca. That alone was enough to make her breathing stop for an instant. 

"Yuna..."

It's been so long since she had heard him call her name. She started tearing up; two years of pent up sadness were brought to the surface. She brought up her hand to wipe away the tears that were starting to run down her cheeks. 

He got closer to the camera and smiled his distinctive smile. His facial features then became more serious.

"Yuna, I meant it when I said I'll come running...wait for me, just for a little bit more, ok?"

She nodded to the image on the screen, speechless. Her tears of sadness had become tears of joy. Then the camera started shaking wildly, and the image on the screen suddenly flickered and died, followed by a final audio clip.

"Heeeey! Don't eat that! I... Maaaaaaaan!!-----"

She laughed out loud. He always knew how to make her smile. This little bit of imperfection comforted her. "_My, he's never been a klutz in my dreams before, so it has to be real!_"

She played the sphere over a few more times that night before going to sleep with a gentle smile accenting her beautiful features.

"_The Eternal Calm. It's my two minutes and forty one seconds and Wakka's pudgy stomach. It's a small and quiet kind of happiness ... but, I guess I can ask for a little more, can't I?_"

****************

Author's notes: 

Whoa! This is the first time I've ever written something like this, and the first time I've ever written an FFX fic, so if you spot anything that needs fixing, be sure to be constructive and tell me so in your reviews! Like it? Um...DIS-like it? Let me know so I can do the right thing for the next chapter. I've got a whole week of Spring Break to work this thing out, and then it's back to school! Awww...

If you've seen my reviews on various Tidus/Yuna stories, you know I love this pairing! Don't fret, reunion is on the way!

My inspiration? All of the wonderful FFX fanfic authors on fanfiction.net! You're all just... awesome. Some of you could be professional writers! Honest! :-) Oh, and wondering about the title of this chapter and some familiar lines? It's loosely based on FFX: Another Story from FFX International. I know I could never make up a story to continue THAT big mystery, so I've tweaked it around a bit. :-)

Check out the English translation...here! Well, actually you'll have to cut and paste. (new link! 7/24/02, thanks DreamShadow!)

http://members.atozasia.com/lionheart/games_comics/ffx/FF10Translation.html

Till next time, Ja mata ne!~


	2. Second Chances

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy X and its wonderful characters aren't mine! Though I wish I were one...heehee. ^_~ 

And thank you so much for the reviews! I've forgotten how good it feels to get them. :-) Again, all you need to know this time is that the characters' thoughts are in "_italics._"

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_I remember falling; I remember the tears that stung my eyes, and the blue sky that embraced my fading form._

_So I'm a dream right? The figment of someone's imagination? _

_Then, can anyone please explain to me why this ache in my heart feels so real? _

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Final Fantasy X: Beginnings

Chapter Two: Second Chances

A fanfic by Noelle

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Ever since Sin was defeated, Tidus tried to accept his fate. Since that day, he tried to forget his sadness. And, since that day, he tried everything he could to find a way back. Every time he heard Yuna's daily whistles pierce the barrier between Spira and the Farplane, he longed even more to be by her side. 

The eternal optimist, one of these "attempts" at coming back to Spira included trying to tear a HUGE hole into the walls of the Farplane using Auron's sword. It goes without saying then, that Auron wasn't too happy about that.

After all, he wasn't really dead, cause he never "lived," right? Even though he could walk among the dead, he believed he wasn't one of them. This gave him the hope to keep going, and anyway, being sad for longer than a few minutes wasn't his forte anyway. 

He sat on one of the many ledges of the Farplane, humming the Hymn of the Fayth to himself and gazing out into space. 

"Hey Boy, mind if I join you?" A gruff voice from behind him caught his attention. 

"Nah, go right ahead."

It was Jecht. It only has been a few days since father and son were reunited, and a mutual understanding had come between them. They could now sit together without fighting. At least it was a start. 

"Got something to tell you," Jecht said after a brief pause. 

"Yeah?" Tidus was puzzled by his father's seriousness. 

Jecht looked at his son and smiled. "Braska thinks he found a way to send you back to Spira." Still trying to be somewhat serious he mumbled, "and umm...he wanted me to tell ya the good news."

Tidus looked at his father, his eyes wide open. "Okay Pop, this better not be a joke, 'cause then I'd seriously have to hurt you."

Jecht put his hands up in mock defense." No no, I'm not THAT mean!" he put a comforting hand on Tidus' shoulder. "Come with me, we're gonna do it today." He stood up and started to walk away.

"Today?!"

"Yeah. Got a problem with that?"

"Umm...no." Tidus couldn't contain his smile. "Thanks Dad."

"Come ON! We got no time for the mushy stuff...." Jecht said, just a little embarrassed.

With that, Tidus stood up and joined his father to meet Braska, with hopes of meeting Yuna again on his mind. 

****************

Braska's "residence" on the Farplane was lavish. He did sacrifice himself for the good of all Spira, after all. Besides that, you could "live" in anything you wanted to in the Farplane. All you had to do was dream it up, and there it was. 

Auron had already arrived, and he was leaning against the wall when Tidus and Jecht came in. 

"Wait here for a little bit, he'll be out in a minute," the stoic guardian said. He still wore his sunglasses and collar, though now that he was finally at rest, seeing a smile from him wasn't as rare as it used to be. 

A door opened as soon as Tidus and Jecht took a seat on one of the couches of the room. Braska walked out. He was wearing his summoning clothes minus the headpiece, since it got taken off anyway every time Jecht came over...

"Hey BRASKA!" Jecht instantly got up and gave him a noogie, his clean cut honey brown hair getting frazzled with each turn of Jecht's fist. 

"Owowowow!" Braska laughed as he tried to break out of Jecht's headlock. This was a funny ritual of theirs that started ever since Sin was defeated. Jecht tried to attempt doing this to Auron before, but once Auron threatened Jecht with his sword, that idea went out the window. 

Once Braska finally got free and got himself back in order, he gave Jecht a glare, walked over to the wall, and grabbed his summoner's staff off of it. 

"Tidus, I've known ever since you got here that you wanted to go back and see my daughter," he said as he still faced the wall. "and... I want you to make my daughter happy." He turned back towards Tidus, smiled, and made eye contact with him. "Let me explain this all to you before I do anything, ok?"

"Yes. Braska. Sir." 

He gave Tidus one last smile before starting to explain.

"You've probably thought of this before, but you know you're more than a dream because you came in contact and defeated Sin, right? Jecht became real because he was Sin, and you...you have a chance at becoming real too. You just need an extra push."

"Luckily for us, we found out how to give you this extra push..." Auron started. "I think it'll be hell for all of us if you moped around all the time."

"Heeeey!" Tidus retorted. He looked at his father, expecting him to chime in.

"What're lookin' at me for?!" The truth was, he couldn't think of anything good to say, but that's not the point. 

Braska continued. "What I'm going to do is perform a 'Reverse Sending' on you."

"Reverse Sending?" Tidus replied, his aquamarine eyes catching Braska's own sapphire ones. 

"Yes. Much like sending dead people on Spira takes them to the Farplane, I will attempt a reverse sending to transport you back to Spira. It hasn't been proven to work before, but since no one ever tried sending a dream before, it's worth a shot."

"One question though..."

"Yes?"

"Where'd you think of this anyway?"

Braska laughed. "I was young like you once, and I wanted to find a way back too. I had more than ten years to think about it after all." He looked to Auron and Jecht. "Too bad it won't work on actually dead people like us!" Braska then motioned for Tidus to stand up. "Come Tidus. It's time."

Auron got up from the wall, and put his hand on Tidus' shoulder. "Don't forget us," a trace of a smile could be seen under his collar. "and stay by Yuna. Always."

"Will do!" Tidus reassured him.

Jecht then came up and gave his son a hug, much to Tidus' surprise. "I'm gonna miss ya," he said, starting to get a little emotional. "Be good, ok?"

"Aww...dad!"

After the goodbyes were finished, Braska had everyone get away from Tidus, so he could start the dance. As Tidus started to dematerialize before their eyes into numerous pyreflies, Braska gave him one last message. 

"I don't know when or where in Spira you'll end up, but from the way this is going, it's working." Braska spun his staff above his head once more and leveled it in front of his face as Tidus faded away.

"Goodbye."

*****************

Two years later...

He found himself curled up in a ball, his forehead touching his knees. Even without opening his eyes, he could sense pyreflies coursing through his body.

"_Am I...underwater?_" he sensed a cool sensation all over. Breathing would be no problem; he was the star of the Zanarkand Abes after all. Waitaminnit...

"_UNDERWATER?! That means..._" He opened his eyes and smiled a knowing smile. He lifted up his head toward the Spira sun, stretched out, and started swimming as fast as he could to the surface. "_Hang on Yuna, I'm---*_"

His head broke the surface of the water, and the first person he saw was none other than...

"Grand Maestress Yuna! Over here!" 

"Lady Yuna, how do you feel about..."

"About your speech..."

Yuna, just exiting the blitzball stadium, was currently fending off her supporters with a little help from Wakka and Lulu. The crowd of people made it very hard for her to get to the waiting S.S Winno heading back to Besaid.

"_She's as beautiful as ever..._"

Tidus wanted very much to just call out her name and run to her right now. His emotions were so built up, his heart threatened to come out of his chest! His chance was missed though, as he lost sight of her in the crowd. The commotion was so much that when he tried calling to her, his voice was lost on the wind. Not one to be discouraged though, he got up onto the Luca Port and tried once again to find her in the crowd. Even on his tiptoes he couldn't spot her, and the S.S Winno already seemed to be leaving the dock.

"I guess I'm gonna have to find another way then..." he absent-mindedly said to himself. The nearby vendors added even more to the noise from Yuna's recent departure.

"Official Blitzball merchandise! Get your official Blitzballs here!!!!"

"Hot dogs, get your hot dogs!"

"Movie spheres! Movie spheres! Take Luca home to your family!" 

"_Wait...that's it!_" he thought. He walked over to the movie sphere vendor, a hopeful smile on his face. 

"One movie sphere please." He said cheerfully to the vendor.

"500 gil."

"Umm..hold on a sec." Tidus fumbled through his short pockets for money. "_Oh no! Don't tell me I'm back and I'm brooooke..._" For an instant fear crossed his face, but then finally felt a few coins at the very bottom of his large pockets. "_Whew! That was a close one!_" Tidus regained his composure and gave the money to the vendor.

"Here ya go. Come again."

"Thanks! Ehehe..." He looked down at the movie sphere in his hands. 

"_I could mail this over to Besaid to tell Yuna I'm here with this...and then I'll figure out some way to get back and surprise her! Yeah! Perfect!_" He looked over his surroundings. "Hmm... where can I record this thing?" The hustle and bustle in Luca's center wasn't exactly the best place to do this task. He sighed. The closest thing? Back into the water he went. 

"Now what to say...what to say?" He set the sphere afloat on a nearby piece of plywood.

"Yuna...here's....TIDUS!!"

_Nah._

"Hi...honey?!"

_No no no no._

"I love you, marry me?"

_Oops, that's for later. Oh, I know!_ He hit the button on the sphere to make it start recording, and moved back a little.

"Yuna," he smiled just at saying her name. "Yuna, I meant it when I said I'll come running...wait for me, just for a little bit more, ok?" he didn't want Yuna to think he whistles were in vain, her father had probably heard them too. He was about to add more, when suddenly, some waves picked up as a fishing boat whizzed by. 

A fish in the water, stirred to the surface, saw Tidus' movie sphere in all the chaos, and decided to eat it. There was a tasty insect that happened to land right on top of it after all. Tidus looked on in horror as the whole scenario took place. 

"Heeeey! Don't eat that! I... Maaaaaaaan!!-----*"

The fish swam off, Tidus tried to hit it with the plywood, and the fishing boat went on its merry way.

*******************

Later that day...

The Al Bhed on the salvage ship had seen better times. Their machina lessons were free, and for the good of Spira, but whoo! They needed to eat too! But with no money, and far from Home, they had to resort to the old fashioned way of getting food: catching it. Rikku and Brother were on the bow of the boat, fishing in the waters of Luca, since that's where they ended up today.

"Oooooh! I got one!" Rikku exclaimed in excitement.

["Let me help you!"] Brother said in Al Bhed. He grabbed her pole and pulled the fish up and out of the water. "[Ha! Look at that! It's a big one!"]

["Wait...what's that?"] Rikku pointed to something in the fish's mouth. Brother, curious as well, pulled up the fishing line, opened its mouth and pulled out a turquoise movie sphere. 

Rikku shook her head in disbelief. ["Fish eat the strangest things nowadays..."]

******************

Author's notes:

Thank you everyone who reviewed the first chapter! And darcee-michelle, you're my hero . :-)

I meant to get this out sooner, but whoo! This chapter took me the whole day! I guess I've got to find that "groove" that lets me pump out chapters super duper fast! At least I give you a substantial read every time, right? Right? :-)

I've got the next chapter concept down already, and I promise it'll be out in a couple of days. This is story WILL go somewhere, I just felt I needed to explain a few things on Tidus' side before I tread onward. 

Oh yeah, my whole opinion on Tidus' name? I can read it Japanese, and the way you're supposed to say it is "Tee-da." So, that's what I think every time someone says his name in fanfics. Hey. I think it sounds cool that way...just a random bit. ^_~

As always, good or bad, tell me what you think! It'll make me a better writer, and a faster one too! Ja mata ne!~


	3. The Sun's Return

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X and its wonderful characters, but I think those FFX tin lunchboxes are pretty cute! Anyone agree? 

Character thoughts are in "_italics._" Omoidashite kudasai. :-) 

******************

"_I've waited two years..._" 

Yuna opened her eyes, the warm morning light filtering through her window. She smiled and sat up, looking outside to see calm waves lapping up on the beach. She then looked to the movie sphere that had just recently come into her possession, and smiled even more.

The thought of meeting Tidus again was enough to send pleasant tingles throughout her body.

"_...but, I think I could stand to wait, just a little bit more!_" 

****************

Final Fantasy X: Beginnings

Chapter Three: The Sun's Return

A fanfic by Noelle

****************

"Busy busy busy..." She bounded from desk to desk, and hummed some more. At the moment, Yuna was cheerfully looking through and organizing a large pile of papers. If, that was at all possible. 

"Yuna! Breakfast!" Rikku shouted, even though she was just outside the doorway to the room Yuna was in. 

"Coming!~" Yuna bouncing around in her PJ's and grinning like an idiot while doing work was just too much for Rikku.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" She couldn't stop herself. 

"What's so funny?" Yuna asked, a look of confusion on her face combined with a hint of a smile. 

"Yunie, you're just too cute!"

"Me?"

"Yeah, you!" Rikku leaned a bit on the doorway. "Look at you, you're so happy you can't contain yourself!"

"Well...you know why..." Yuna wrung her fingers together. She still hadn't shown the sphere to the others.

"Yeah, I think I have a general idea..." She smiled a knowing smile." Yunie, you got it bad."

"Haha...you can tell?" She laughed and smiled some more, setting aside one more pile of papers. "_Today's going to be a good day, I just know it._" She walked toward the doorway and past Rikku, patting her on the back as she walked by her.

"Come on Rikku! Let's get to breakfast already!" 

"Yunie, you're scary," Rikku said jokingly.

"Yup, I know." She still couldn't keep her smile to herself. "Get used to it, cuz."

The girls laughed some more and eventually got down to breakfast, where Wakka and Lulu were waiting.

*******************

"Wakka cooked today, so everyone..." Lulu looked around the table. "...a word of caution." She said this last part with a mischievous smile. 

"Come on, Lu! I've been getting better, honest!" Wakka pleaded. 

"Hmm..." Lulu thought back to his earlier 'food creations.' "Yes, I'll give you that."

"Yeah, I knew you'd agree!" He smiled his big smile.

Rikku looked down at her plate, a short stack of slightly burned pancakes, a stick or two of mutilated sausages, and 'scrambled eggs' are what she saw. She really didn't want to eat it, even if it was...edible, to an extent. Wakka and Lulu were already started on eating, and made small talk.

"_They both must be used to this already..._" She thought. 

She looked across the table to her cousin to see how she was faring, and boy was she going at it. Rikku's eyes widened in surprise. Yuna's pancakes were half done, the 'eggs' were gone, and the sausages were the only things left untouched. 

"Wakka, nice job with breakfast today!" Yuna complimented him as she reached for the orange juice. She was still in an unbelievably good mood.

"Glad you like it, ya?" His plate was completely polished.

"Um...can I be excused?" Rikku asked, all of this was getting too weird for the young Al Bhed. 

"You're not hungry Rikku?" Lulu asked with concern in her voice. Rikku had barely touched her food.

"I'm okay, Lulu..." she said to the older woman, "I-I...forgot I had this project to work on!" She stood up and bounded toward the door. 

"Want me to call you for lunch?" Lulu asked. She then got closer to Rikku and whispered into her ear, "...don't worry, I'm cooking." Lulu smiled at Rikku's reaction. 

"Thank goodness," Rikku whispered back, her relief evident. 

"Okay Rikku, we'll be out there in a little bit anyway!" Wakka called from the table. He turned to Yuna. "You coming today?" He knew she always had a lot of work to do, and asked this question daily, though he always knew the answer.

"Of course!" Yuna could always have time for practice, work could wait. She started cleaning up along with Lulu, and hummed a song to herself as she did so. 

"You happy today?" Wakka asked with his thick island accent.

"Yeah. I guess you could say that!" She smiled one of her brightest smiles for him. 

*******************

Yuna bounced a blitzball on her head, sending it flying towards the other Aurochs in the water. 

Jassu caught it, and passed it back to her. "Nice head shot you got there, Lady Yuna!"

She said nothing as she practiced her pass again, and passed it this time to Letty, who promptly passed it back to her. "Come on, let's see what ya got Lady Yuna!"

She caught the ball with ease. "Ok, watch this!" She once again bounced the ball on her head, readied her feet, and almost somersaulting partly on air and partly on water, she executed an explosive Sphere Shot!

"Whoa Lady Yuna! Great shot!" Botta said in amazement.

"Been practicing that every day?" Datto said as he patted her on the back.

She looked around at the Aurochs. They had given her so much support these last two years. Along with Wakka's help, she had been getting better every day. Speaking of which, a certain flame-haired fellow came from behind her, wrapped his arms around her so she couldn't escape, and dragged her underwater. 

"Gurble gurble!" Was pretty much what came out of Yuna's mouth when she learned it was Wakka who played this trick on her...again. He said it was good "practice" to help her hold her breath underwater, but she just thought it was a mean trick. A VERY mean one at that. 

Eventually, Yuna wriggled out of his grasp and made it to the surface, her surprise making her short of breath. Water flowed down her furrowed brows as she watched Wakka surface as well.

"Wakka...you...you!" Yuna was visibly peeved.

"Hahahahaha!" It was all in good fun to him. "Looks like you need some work on that, ya?"

"Hmmph!" She crossed her arms and looked to the side. "Next time you try that, you're going to get a beating!"

"Ok, ok Miss Yuna, I'll stop doing that..." He paused, smiling as he did so. "...for today." He patted her on the head. "But really now, you need some of that kind of practice when someone tackles you underwater, ya?"

"I guess...but it's still really mean Wakka!" she pouted.

"Hehe, you know I love ya," he frazzled her wet hair. He waved to the other Aurochs in the water. "Ok everyone! Get back to practice!" 

"Yes Capn' Wakka!" 

"Whatever you say Capn' Wakka!"

He then turned to Yuna. " You wanna try and beat that record today?" He asked, smiling warmly. 

"Yes!" she said enthusiastically, then swam a little ways away and submerged herself in the water. She held her breath and started counting. 

"_1...2...3..._"

Unknown to her, someone was approaching her from behind, his legs churning up the waters in his wake. 

"_4...5...6...7..._"

He swam even faster upon spotting Yuna, who was currently curled up in a ball, obviously concentrating very hard. Bubbles rose from her prone form.

"_8...9...10...11..._"

He swam more slowly the closer he got to her, he didn't want his surprise ruined. A genuine smile crossed his features as he imagined her reaction. 

"_12...13...14...15...16...seven---*_"

Her count was interrupted as a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around her waist. Her concentration broken, Yuna opened her eyes, but didn't bother to see who her attacker was. "_Ok Wakka, you've gone too far!_" she thought, even more peeved than before. "_He promised he wouldn't...!_" She tensed her muscles. "_Well then..._"

She placed three elbow shots to her attacker's abdomen. Three very hard ones at that. She could feel her attacker reel back from the force.

"_Ha! That'll show him and his pudgy stomach!_" Yuna thought in triumph as she wriggled free. She rapidly swam up to the surface to see Wakka's pained expression. " Told you you'd get a beating! ...Wakka?"

Wakka was standing where he originally was, and was still timing her with a stopwatch. "What'd I do this time that I didn't know about, ya?" He looked at the time she'd been underwater. "Something wrong?"

"Hold on a moment..." she turned around cautiously to see just who she attempted to put out of commission. 

A young man with layered blonde hair, dreamy blue eyes and a slightly pained expression rose from the water in front of her. He lifted his head and made eye contact with Yuna's green and blue eyes.

_"It can't be..."_ Yuna was frozen in place. And she still couldn't believe she had just attacked HIM, of all people! She brought a hand up to her mouth, both surprised and a little embarrassed at the same time. 

"Wow Yuna, a new custom in Spira I didn't know about?" He rubbed his sore stomach.

"Tidus?" She walked towards him in the water and stroked his face. "It's you, right?" Tears threatened to come out of her eyes. 

"Yeah! Last time I checked, that's me," he brushed a few strands out of her face and moved closer to her.

"This isn't a dream right? You're not a dream? Are you?" Yuna was getting frantic, her hands traveling over Tidus' chest, half expecting to have her fingers pass through him.

Tidus stopped her hands. "I'm here Yuna." he smiled warmly at her and pulled her in for an embrace. "You decked me just earlier, remember?" he said jokingly. 

"I missed you." Yuna said, the tears flowing freely now. 

Tidus closed his eyes, taking her scent in. He couldn't find the right way to say all that he wanted to say to her, but the chance was taken from him as he suddenly felt Yuna's lips on his own. 

"_Please..._" She kissed him passionately, her emotions taking over. "_Please stay with me always..._" she prayed with all her heart.

Tidus kissed her back with equal passion, the heat between them growing.

The Aurochs cheered for the couple and their reunion, letting go hoots and whistles as the couple continued kissing.

"_If it's the two of us, it'll be ok..._"

*********************

Author's Notes:

Hiya! I'm not used to writing out great love scenes, but I am used to reading a lot of them! I hope this one turned out ok. Thanks again for all your wonderful reviews! I love reading them, so keep it up! 

In response to Rebecca's question: Yup, that fish part was supposed to be funny. Glad you liked it! Look for more humor in odd places, cause I love writing in witty stuff. 

Some little tidbits: "Omoidashite kudasai," is Japanese for "Please Remember." I just thought it would be cute. Yuna did use it after all in the game's end (JAP version). We all know it as "Never forget them." :-)

And in Okinawan, Tidus' name means "Sun," so that's where the chapter title comes from. 

And the end quote to this chapter is a line from "Endless Love, Endless Road," a duet sung by the Japanese Voice actors for Tidus and Yuna. It just stuck in my head, and is my favorite line in the whole song. "Futari nara, daijoubu..."

If you have any ideas about what should happen next, be sure to tell me! The story can go anywhere from here! :-)


	4. Love's Refrain

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X or its characters. I *did* get some doujinshi though! Hmm...come to think of it, the doujinshi people don't own them either. ^_^

Character thoughts are in "_italics._" Dakara, zenbu hanashite okitain da...

**************_**_

_Just whistle and I'll come running. _

_Sounds like only a simple reassurance, doesn't it? It was something that was supposed to help you find your way._

_Somehow, this simple phrase has become something more; a vow. _

_I'll come back to you, no matter what happens._

_Just whistle and I'll come running._ _I promise. _

**************

Final Fantasy X: Beginnings

Chapter Four: Love's Refrain

**************

Tidus and Yuna ended their electric kiss after a few moments, since well, a whole blitzball team was watching their every move (much to their discomfort). They looked into each other's eyes after parting, the world consisting of only the two of them. That was until...

"Whoa-ho!" Wakka put Tidus in a tight headlock.

"O-ooow!"

"Good to have you back ya?" Wakka let him go after a good amount of struggling on Tidus' part.

Tidus looked up to see the entire team of the Besaid Aurochs, who were figuring out just what to say to the one man who could bring their blitzball team farther than it already has. In the time since Tidus disappeared, they've made semifinals with little effort on their own...but never won the big cup. 

"Uhhh...Sir Tidus?" 

"Could ya..um..."

"Sure I'll play for you guys! Who else would I play for?" Tidus pumped his left fist in the air--his usual pose. The Aurochs cheered, Wakka laughed, and Yuna laughed along with him. Tidus smiled at everyone's reactions. "_Feels almost like Zanarkand...only better._" Yuna stopped laughing for a bit to turn to him, the trace of her smile still evident.

"Want to meet the others?" She reached out and took his hand underneath the water, so only he could notice. She blushed a little as she did this. "I-I'm sure they'd be excited to see you!" She could still barely contain her own excitement. 

"Yeah Yuna, that'll be great!" He squeezed her hand under the water as he said this, a blush creeping up to his face too. He was about to turn away to hide it, but decided against it. "_It's how I feel about her!_" He smiled at Yuna, noticing her blush as well. He leaned over to whisper in her ear. "You're really cute when you blush, you know?" She giggled a bit, further proving Tidus' comment. She got closer to him and whispered in his ear too. 

"You're cute when you blush too."

It started as giggles, but they both laughed loudly after this exchange, much like they did on their first trip to Luca. The Aurochs and the people on the Besaid shore gave them perplexed looks, weirded out by the sudden burst of laughter, much like Yuna's guardians did on her pilgrimage. This time however, they weren't laughing to hide underlying sadness. 

Yuna started running towards the shore, letting go of Tidus' hand. "Race ya!"

Tidus, momentarily disoriented, quickly caught on. "You're on!" He made big splashes as he chased after her. 

Wakka laughed at all the commotion that just passed him by. "Hahaha...That's young love, ya?" The Aurochs responded in similar fashion.

"You said it Cap'n Wakka!"

"Aww...makes me tear up, ya?"

****************

Yuna stepped into her hut, soaking wet, and as usual Lulu was there to greet her with a towel and a few reprimands.

"Yuna! How many times have I told you to dry off before coming in?" Lulu busied herself over her, drying her hair so more water wouldn't get on the furniture. 

"Sorry Lulu! I'll try and remember next time!" Yuna smiled extra big, and the smile stayed there for quite a while. 

*_Flash!_*This was a tip off to Lulu that something was out of the ordinary. "Yuna...did something good happen today--?" She was cut off as Tidus walked through the door, breathing heavily, and also...soaking wet. 

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Lulu screamed in surprise, mostly because of Tidus, but also because of the excessive amounts of water he brought into the hut. She quickly ran away into one of the rooms. 

"Uh...Yuna? What's with her?" He pointed towards the direction she ran off to. He grinned and said under his breath, "Besides being pregnant, that is." 

Yuna giggled under the towel Lulu had placed on her head. "Might be you. You think?" She peeked at the puddle of water accumulating at Tidus' feet. "Oh...and that too."

"What too?"

"You'll see." She giggled a little more. 

Lulu came rushing back in, another towel in hand, threw it on Tidus, and dried him up as well. "There," she put her hands on her hips, proud of her work. She then hugged him suddenly. 

"Wha--? Lulu?" Tidus was very confused by her behavior.

"It's good to have you back..." she hugged him tighter. "... especially for Yuna." 

Tidus could see tears starting to well up in her eyes at his arrival. "Aww...c'mon Lulu!"

She pulled away from him and looked him over. "You've grown."

"I have?" Where Tidus was concerned it has only been a few days since he left the Farplane. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Yuna nodding in agreement. "_Wait...if Lulu's pregnant, Yuna's practicing blitzball, and 'I've grown'...just how long has it been?_"

Yuna saw the confused look in Tidus' eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Yuna. Be honest." His features became serious, and he grabbed her shoulders, for the first time really looking at her uniform. "_The uniform of the Zanarkand Abes. What's she--?_" 

"O-ok." Yuna replied, the atmosphere no longer as cheerful as when they had first walked in.

"How long has it been?" Tidus asked, his voice softening. "Since I left. Since... I left you." As he looked into Yuna's eyes, for the first time he could tell that she had changed with time as well, her features more like a woman's, instead of the young girl he met that fateful day in the temple. 

Yuna turned her head away, unable to answer. "I..." Too many bad memories of his absence came to the surface at his question. Her sapphire and emerald eyes showed the pain of the past. 

"Two years."

Tidus turned towards Lulu, who had spoken up. "Two...years?" He couldn't believe it. "I...I didn't know."

"All that matters is that you're here..." Yuna said, her voice no longer shaky. An uncomfortable silence followed this exchange, that was until...

"RIKKU'S BACK!" Rikku's voice came bursting through the door long before she herself did. She made a grand entrance into the hut, jumping through the entrance energetically, sort of like she was further emphasizing the fact that she had arrived. As a greeting, she slapped Tidus on the back, HARD.

"Heeeeey! Heard you were back so I rushed over! Heeheehee." Rikku was as hyper as ever. 

Tidus tried to hide his grimace, and Yuna laughed, the tension from the previous situation released. "H-hey Rikku..." he turned around to face her. Rikku looked almost the same as when he had left, though like Yuna, she had grown more beautiful with time. Of course, he wasn't about to say that out loud, it might give off the wrong idea. "Wow! You look like Yuna more than ever!" He paused after saying this. "_Wait, maybe that was the wrong thing to say..._"

"Really now?" Rikku smirked and looked Yuna's way. "What a compliment! Considering the way you two are..."

This elicited a blush from 'those two.'

"Ahem." Lulu had been a quiet spectator for too long. She still had the knack for getting everyone's attention though. "How about..." she walked in the middle of everyone. " How about...we have a little party for Tidus' return?" I think it would be a good way to commemorate today..." She was already running over preparations in her head.

"Hey, great idea Lulu!" Rikku exclaimed. Lulu was still her role model after all these years.

Tidus looked at Yuna, who nodded in agreement. "Ok Lulu, I'll help!" she said happily. 

"Umm...small problem guys..." Tidus spoke up amid the excitement. 

Yuna perked up. "What is it?"

"Well you see... it all started when I was in Luca..." Tidus sat down and began to tell his story.

****************

[Luca-Flashback]

Tidus had just had his movie sphere eaten by the mischievous fish, and was pretty down in the dumps. "Well..." He fumbled around in his short pockets for the money he had left. "I've got just enough to get to Kilika...I'll just have to walk it from there." he said this last part with a saddened expression on his face. He could still see all of Yuna's supporters gathering at the dock where her boat left. "Wish I could get to her sooner...ooof!" Tidus had absent-mindedly walked into someone exiting the dock.

"'Scuse ME! Watch where you're going M-m-mister?!" The woman looked up, her face turning pale. 

Tidus was very confused. First she had been rude, and now it looked like she had seen a ghost. "Uh, ma'am? I'm really really sorry..." he tried not to make a scene of this and lowered his voice. "Do you need any help? Did I hit you too hard?"

"Sir Tidus?" she asked, her voice shaky. 

"Yeah...that's me. How did you know my name?"

"SIR TIDUS! IT'S AN HONOR!" She immediately took his hand and shook it. This caused the whole crowd of Yuna's supporters at the dock to turn toward the commotion, effectively turning their attention elsewhere.

"Sir Tidus? Here?"

"I thought he was dead?"

"Wow! A living legend!"

"Uwaaaaa...just like Sir Auron was!"

Tidus could do nothing but look helpless as he was engulfed by the swarm of people, reporters and cameras appearing out of nowhere. "_Wha-what just happened right now?_"

"Sir Tidus!"

"About Lady Yuna..."

"How does it feel to be a legendary guardian?"

"_Me? A legend?_"

[Flashback end]

*****************

"So..." Tidus continued, "Somehow I got a free ride to Besaid, and umm...ehhehe..." He showed a little hesitation.

Rikku was getting impatient. "Yeah? Yeah?"

Yuna laughed. "You sound just like Wakka does...ya?"

Lulu smirked at this. " I agree." Rikku shot daggers in both of their directions. "Anyway, so what was the problem again?"

"Well you see...since everyone knows about well, me...all of the reporters and Yuna's supporters are coming over to Besaid...tonight." Tidus hung his head low. "I was lucky enough to have them not follow me on the boat I was on!"

"WHAT?" Rikku exclaimed. 

"We've been trying to avoid them for a while now, but I guess it can't be helped..." Lulu propped up her head in thought. "I guess we'll throw a party with them in mind then..."

"Whoa, a big party now?" Rikku thought a bit. "That could be fun too...and besides, now EVERYONE can know you're back in Spira!"

"Yay." Tidus said non-enthusiastically.

Yuna shared his feeling, and smiled softly. "We'll have a little celebration later on to make up for it, ok?" She put his hand over his.

"Ok... Thanks, Yuna." He smiled, he didn't want her worried. He had made her worry for two years, he wasn't about to make the same mistake again. He wanted to reach out and kiss her right now, with her hand covering his, and her pouting lips tempting him. "_My feelings have never been this strong before..._" 

But now was not the time. "_I'll tell her soon. I'll tell her that I love her._"

"Hi everyone! Miss me?" Wakka came through the hut's entrance, though not as dramatically as Rikku. Being the good husband that he was, he had dried off outside, much to Lulu's relief. As he walked in, he sensed something amiss. "Eh...what's up everyone?" he directed his attention towards Lulu, she usually knew what was going on. 

"Get dressed for a party Wakka, there's going to be a big one tonight!" Lulu looked him over. "And NOT the blitzball uniform, ok?"

"Yeah! So his pudgy stomach won't show!" Rikku giggled at her own joke.

"Wakka? You've got a belly now? Lemme see!" Tidus' curiosity was piqued. 

"Hey! Leave me alone brudda!" Wakka said, pushing away Tidus' poking finger. "You gotta get dressed out of your blitzin' outfit too!"

Tidus continued to try and see Wakka's stomach under his uniform, with little success.

"Stop that! It's embarrassing, ya?!"

Everyone laughed at Tidus, Wakka and their bickering. 

Yuna smiled and reluctantly got up to end the boys' 'fight.' "Come on now, stop it you two!"

Tidus grinned mischievously and turned his poking finger to Yuna's stomach instead. " Nice stomach ya got there!"

Yuna blushed, embarrassed by the sudden turn of events. But why should she be? She _had _been working at it for two years. She had a thought, then suddenly started poking Tidus' stomach, effectively turning the tables. 

"Haha! That tickles!" Tidus reeled back from laughter, and Yuna giggled at his reaction. 

Lulu saw once again that things weren't really going anywhere. "Ok everyone! Let's get ready and get to work on the preparations! We have to tell the village what's going on still..."

After a long pause, Wakka broke the silence.

"Hey Lu, do you know where my 'real' clothes are?" I forgot where you put them...hehe."

This earned him weird looks from everyone, including Lulu.

"What?" 

*****************

Lulu had employed the help of the people of Besaid to set up a 'Welcome Back' party for Tidus. It was to be a grand affair, much like the celebration they had when Yuna had first proven herself as a summoner. As night came, a big bonfire in the middle of the village was lit to provide light and warmth for the outdoor party. The air was filled with revelry and anticipation, as people got themselves ready for the grand event. 

Tidus was having a hard time finding something to wear. He didn't bring anything with him from Zanarkand or the Farplane, since well, it was just plain impossible. After a quick search through the hut (and Wakka's things) he decided to just give up. "_My uniform'll just have to do..._" He sighed and moved outside of the hut to gaze at the stars. 

"Tidus? What're you doing standing around here?" It was Lulu. She had come out of the hut, wearing a purple satin dress that did nothing to hide her (pregnant) figure, but still managed to look stunning. 

"I know this might sound stupid, but to tell you the truth, I can't find anything to wear." He grinned goofily. 

Lulu looked him up and down thoughtfully. "Hmm..." She then made eye contact with him. "You really are a dead ringer for Chappu, down to his build...I think I might have some clothes for you then." She measured his broad shoulders by eye.

"Uh, Lulu, are you sure? I don't want you to feel uncomfortable or anything..."

Lulu smiled. It was odd to have *him* worrying about her of all people. "I'll be all right, don't worry. I'd be more worried if you show up in front of everyone dressed like you're going to a game!" With this, Lulu pushed Tidus into the hut to change him into something more suitable for the celebration. "_And..._" Lulu thought, "_...for Yuna._" She was in the position to be matchmaker, why not have fun while you're at it?

*****************

In time, the 'guests' (Yuna's supporters, reporters, and other random people ^_^) arrived to the small island, surprised by the village's joyous welcome. They eventually settled into the mood though, enjoying food, drinks, music and dancing in short time, almost forgetting about the reason they came. The residents of Besaid on the other hand, were happy to grasp another opportunity to celebrate.

Tidus peeked out of the hut, just a tad bit uncomfortable in his borrowed clothes, though admittedly they did fit him pretty well. Lulu had done a good job, choosing black slacks and a dark blue long sleeved ribbed v-neck sweater for him to wear. The sweater showed just enough of his collarbone, and his Abes necklace shone brightly against its dark surface. Spotting Wakka (wearing a black suit and tie), Rikku (wearing a sleeveless salmon colored dress with a side slit) and Lulu among the crowd, he finally decided to come out.

Big mistake. 

The moment Tidus stepped out, a reporter (or two) instantly noticed him (a sixth sense!). 

"Sir Tidus!" The reporter pulled a mike from nowhere and a cameraman appeared magically behind her. "Mind if we ask you a few questions?"

"Uh.." Tidus hesitated. "I kinda, um. I mean..." He looked around for a means of escape, and saw Yuna across the way in a similar situation, a crowd of her supporters and various groups surrounding her by the minute. He stared a tad bit too long, looking at her smile, as well as her outfit. It was a white dress held up by spaghetti straps, and coming down mid-thigh, the glitter of the material shone in the moonlight. She also wore teardrop earrings, further accenting her beautiful face. (A/N: Think Rinoa's outfit from FF8)

The reporter caught wind of this. "Tidus, sir... you and High Maestress Yuna..."

Tidus really didn't want to answer questions about his personal life, but how else was he going to get out of this? He knew these people weren't going to stop until they got every ounce of his life on tape. He knew this from his past experiences on Zanarkand.

"All you really have to know about that, is that I'll stay by her side. Always." He smiled at the reporter and at the camera, hair falling sexily in front of his face. "Anything else you want to know?" 

The lady reporter swooned a bit before continuing on her barrage of questions, much to Tidus' amusement.

With time, the other reporters as well as the residents who wanted to welcome back their hero, came to Tidus to ask him questions of life, love, and...whatever. ^_^

***************

Yuna had also noticed in her search for an escape from her 'fans' the crowd of reporters and officials that were currently crowding around Tidus. "_He sure is popular with everyone tonight..._" She smiled as she saw a glimpse of what he was wearing. "_And handsome too._"

"Lady Yuna, what do you think about the Al Bhed situation?"

"We think that if you join our group, it will benefit all of Spira! Please consider?"

"Can I have your autograph?"

Yuna took and deep breath and started answering questions one by one. This came as part of her responsibility. It was something she had gotten used to over time, but what she really wanted to do was enjoy the festivities...with a certain someone of course. "Good things come to those who wait..." she mumbled absent-mindedly under her breath.

"What was that Grand Maestress?" One of the group leaders was hanging on her every word.

Yuna snapped back to reality. "Oh! Nothing, nothing..." she laughed nervously and urged the people to continue asking her questions, and she signed a few autographs for the children that had come to her. 

***************

The time came when the people became tired of their own endless questioning. A party was for having fun, not for business! With time, the people dispersed among the celebration, freeing up Tidus and Yuna to finally have some fun for themselves. Through the crowd of partygoers, they tried to reach each other from opposite sides of the central bonfire. 

"Yuna?" Tidus called out loudly, he had lost track of where she was while weaving through the crowd. The music for the next dance was already starting up and he wanted to get to her before then.

"Ouch, you...you don't have to yell so loud!" Yuna joked, followed by a giggle. She was practically under Tidus' nose.

"Oh, haha! Sorry! Didn't see ya there!" He bowed slightly in apology, smiling his trademark grin. They both looked up as the song started to get underway.

"Haha, come on now silly..." she took his hands and placed them on her slim waist, noticing that for the first time she had seen, they were ungloved. She then snaked her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. "Care to dance?" she asked, though it was more of a request than anything.

"I'd love to." He smiled at her, and they started to sway to the music as they slow danced. In time, Yuna set her head down in the crook of Tidus' neck, and Tidus wrapped his arms around her small form. 

"_He's so warm..._" Yuna thought as she gazed at the golden tan skin of his neck. She closed her eyes, never wanting this moment to end.

"Yuna?" Tidus asked, his voice soft and gentle. 

"Mmm?"

"I know I can't make two years time up to you...I-I really didn't know I hurt you that much..." Tidus could feel her tense up from his touch on her skin, but continued. "I'll explain what happened in the farplane sometime..."

Yuna cut him off. "All that matters is that you're here..." she added under her breath. "...and that you kept your promise."

Tidus smiled. "There is something I have to tell you more than anything though..." 

Yuna lifted her head up to look into his eyes. "What is it?" She had a feeling of apprehension, "_Is there some sort of 'catch' from being brought back from the Farplane? Is he only temporary? What if he--?_"

"I love you." He said it loud enough so that only she could hear. He had finally said it. A look of relief and pure joy crossed Yuna's features.

"I know." she smiled. She had known from that night in Macalania. "But could you say it again? It sounds so nice." She placed her head on his shoulder once more.

"I love you, Yuna." He whispered it softly into her ear and stroked her face gently. He hadn't imagined that saying these words would come so easily, but there was one more thing he wanted to do while the mood was right. "May I kiss you?"

"I'd love it if you did...but all these people--mmph!" Yuna was stopped mid sentence as Tidus' pressed his lips to her own, he had taken her comment as a go-ahead. 

"_I don't care what everyone else thinks! I..._" He continued to kiss her gently, and Yuna kissed back, her lips telling him that she had wanted this also. 

Eventually, the couple pulled apart, and while looking into her eyes, Tidus realized just what was going on here. The music had long stopped, and everyone's attention was directed toward them, not that he didn't mind. He could hear the murmuring of the crowd, and above it all, Rikku's "WAY TO GO YUNIE!!!" accompanied by the muffling efforts of Lulu and Wakka. Yuna laughed, she couldn't help herself. 

"_I'm falling in love with her all over again..._"

****************

The rest of the party went as planned, Tidus danced with Yuna several more times, though on occasion Rikku or Lulu would cut in, just because. Yuna danced with Wakka also, though he was so tall, dancing with him was a bit weird at first. 

As all good things must come to an end, the party eventually wound down to its final moments, the numerous guests returning home on the arriving ships, and the residents of Besaid turning into their homes for the night. Wakka, Lulu and Rikku went back to the hut tired from the day's exciting events. Yuna and Tidus stayed behind for a little longer, gazing at the stars together before they too, retired for the night.

"_When the friends are gone, and the party is over, we will still belong to each other._" 

**************** 

Author's notes:

I'm so so so very sorry for making you wait for this chapter! If you haven't noticed, I tried to make it up to you by making this chapter longer than usual. ^_^ School has started for me once again, and I can't get much writing done during the week, so expect updates more like on a weekly basis. Kay? Kay. 

The beginning quote is something most of you might recognize, it's part of the opening line Tidus uses in the Japanese version of the game. It is roughly translated as: "That is why ('Because' in my case)...I want to tell you everything." U.S players know this as "Listen to my story. This may be our last chance."

The end quote here, donated by the cool-as-heck Christian (or SuperSlayer-13...whatever you like to call yourself) is a line from Shakira's "Underneath Your Clothes." Would you believe that one quote jump started the whole chapter you just read? So if you have any ideas for what I should write about next, ANYTHING helps, believe me. Review, email me, or IM me! All the info is in my profile.

I love you **all** for the wonderful reviews you gave me!~ Keep it up, ya?


	5. Our Story

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy or any of its characters. But hey! A lot of *normal* people don't...

Character thoughts are in "_italics_." Watashi wa...mayowanai yo. 

**************

_You know what a dream is? _

_ It's something so wonderful, it can't possibly be true. _

_It's something intangible, through fantastic, fleeting, but memorable. _

_He was all of these things once. _

_Isn't it beautiful? To have a dream come true?_

*************

Final Fantasy X: Beginnings

Chapter Five: Our Story

*************

She dreamed of the night before, the lights, the music, his arms around her waist and the feel of his lips on her own. It was magical; that something like this was dreamlike, but also true. She didn't want to leave this dream world, only to be brought down by reality as she was in the past. A girl can dream of such things, right? "_I'm...not lost. I can fly. Believe._" She had to convince herself of her own confidence more and more these days. "_But from yesterday..._" a smile formed on her lips. "_...everything has changed._"

"Hey sleepy head, time to get up!" An energetic voice filled the room, and rays of morning sunlight poured in through the windows. 

"Mmmm..." Yuna turned over in her bed, her body unwilling. "Don't wanna," she mumbled under the covers. She was still half asleep, exhausted from all of the things that had happened the day before.

"Aww, come on now!" He nudged her a bit, and got her to turn back towards him. Her eyes were still closed. "How about..." He walked out of the room quietly and into the living room. "Yo Tidus, get up, ya?!"

Tidus, sleeping on the sofa in borrowed pj's, stirred a bit in his sleep. "What is it Wakka? It's too early..." with that he promptly started sleeping again. "Zzzzz..."

"Hmph!" Wakka grunted, not satisfied with the situation. He took Tidus' shoulders and shook violently. Tidus was jolted from his slumber and immediately sat up, mainly to fend off Wakka's "attack." Wakka was amused, a huge grin on his face. Tidus, on the other hand, was not. "I'm up, ok? Geeeez, what's the big deal?!"

"Haha, here's the thing," Wakka started to explain, "Yuna's got an important meeting in Luca today that she has to get up for, and for some reason, I can never get her to wake up, ya?" Wakka rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "It's like she's learned to ignore me!"

"What about Lulu, Rikku, or Kimahri?" Tidus was puzzled. If Wakka couldn't do it, and if it really _has_ been two years, someone had to do it...

"Well, I usually get stuck with it cause no matter who does it, it takes a long time! It ain't pretty." He continued, "Lu's usually the one making breakfast, Rikku's not always here, and Kimahri...he usually doesn't talk. We're s'posed to meet up with him today..." He was going to go on, but decided against it. He grinned. "But enough about that, Yuna can tell you all that's goin' on our way to Luca...once you wake her up that is!" 

"Ok, Wakka, I gotcha." Tidus tried smiling, though it came out sleepy. "But you didn't have to wake me up _that_ way..."

"Just get goin' brudda, breakfast'll be ready soon!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Tidus raised his hand in the air as he walked away.

Wakka grinned as he watched Tidus walk over to Yuna's room. Lulu was right, doing this matchmaking business _is_ kinda fun. 

*******************

Yuna was still in bed, apparently sleeping; the covers pulled tightly across her slender shoulders. She shifted upon Tidus' arrival, a smile forming on her lips. 

"I knew you'd come." She opened her eyes slowly.

He waved and smiled sleepily. "Hey Yuna...zzzzz....." Tidus, in his exhausted state, plopped down next to Yuna and promptly... fell asleep. 

"Tidus?" She shook him, once, twice. 

"Zzzzzz...heehee." He latched onto Yuna's waist as he slept.

She hugged him back. "_I almost forgot just how cute he can be,_" she thought, a smile forming on her lips. Still lying down, her two-toned eyes gazed at his sleeping face as she stroked his hair. 

After a few minutes Tidus opened his eyes slowly as he became aware of the attention he was getting from Yuna. He smiled at Yuna lovingly, and his arms pulled her closer. "Hiya."

"Hey..." She placed her hand on his cheek and smiled back at him.

They stayed like that for a while until...

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU TWO ARE DOING?!" Wakka came storming into the room, the time for Yuna's appointment approaching fast.

Yuna and Tidus scrambled in the bed, trying their best to look innocent. This didn't work however, as their arms and legs became even more entangled in the sheets and with each other. 

"Wakka...I can explain!" Tidus put his hands up in defense.

"I'm up! See?" Yuna tried her best to calm Wakka down. 

Wakka was not amused. The commotion was also heard by Lulu, who just happened to pass by that part of the house at the time. She peeked over her husband's shoulder. "Isn't it a bit early for that, you two?" Lulu joked sarcastically. 

Tidus and Yuna blushed profusely, Wakka crossed his arms, and Lulu grinned. An uncomfortable silence followed.

"BATHROOM'S FREE!!!!" Rikku's voice suddenly boomed throughout the hut.

Tidus spoke up. Things were getting a bit weird. "This would be a good time to get up, wouldn't it?"

******************

After the morning commotion, everyone boarded the S.S. Likki headed to Kilika. They would catch the S.S. Winno to Luca afterwards. Yuna made trips to Luca like this often, but somehow, this time was a little different. Leaning on the railing in her summoner's garb, she looked behind her to see Tidus practicing his infamous Jecht Shot while the Aurochs oohed and ahhed. "_That's right. I remember...._" she thought of the first time she rode this ship as a summoner, and smiled. It was the first time she had asked Tidus about his Zanarkand. 

Yuna turned her face back to the ocean, closed her eyes, and let the wind blow through her hair. "_Maybe one of these days I'll have him teach **me** the Jecht Shot!_" She giggled. She could never look as cool as Tidus did, but she might as well try. 

"Hey there, whatcha smilin' about?" Tidus had come to lean up on the rail next to her. 

"Blitzball, what else?" Yuna imitated one of Tidus' hand gestures, pumping her left fist into the air. She grinned extra big, to the point that it was silly. 

Tidus laughed. "That's pretty good! Wait..." He pointed to himself. "...was that supposed to me?" 

"...Yup." She smiled. She couldn't lie to him. Yuna rested her elbows on the railing. "I think it's cute though, why else would I make fun of it?" She turned to face him. " Seriously though, I was wondering..." she hesitated a bit.

"Yeah?"

"Think you could you help me with blitzball?" A blush crept up on her cheeks as to what that could imply. It would be just the two of them in the warm ocean, splashing water at each other, and training to hold her breath with his arms wrapped around her would be like...

"Sure thing!" His answer snapped Yuna out of her straying thoughts. He executed yet another one of his distinctive hand gestures as he said this, but stopped himself before it got too far. 

Yuna hid her smirk in her sleeve, and Tidus looked incredulously at Yuna, then his hand, then back to Yuna. 

"It's gotta be automatic or something, I swear!"

Soon afterwards, they both couldn't stop laughing for a few good minutes, drawing the attention of people around them.

*******************

After a brief stopover in Kilika, the group boarded the S.S. Winno, making good time for Yuna's appointment. As they were boarding, Rikku pulled Yuna aside.

"So Yunie, how's it going with lover boy? Heehee." Rikku already knew what her cousin's reaction would be. 

"L-l-l-lover boy?!" Yuna became instantly embarrassed. 

Rikku laughed."...but it's good to see you happy again, you know?" She had seen the two laughing on the trip before. "And be sure to tell him what's going on so he doesn't look like a complete doofus in front of all Spira, k?" She winked. "Wakka told me to remind you."

Yuna nodded. "Okay." she got behind Rikku and pushed her from behind. "We have to get on the boat first you know!" Rikku gave her a weird look as the both boarded the ship. 

"_That's right, he doesn't know anything, does he?_" The thought had slipped her mind. She thought back to the last time she had to fill him in about the goings on in Spira; back when everyone thought it was Sin's toxin clouding his memory. She never believed it though. Yuna turned to gaze at Tidus across the ship's deck. To her surprise, he was already looking her way. His eyes widened as he made eye contact with her. He had been spacing out, apparently. Yuna smiled and walked over to where he was, her footsteps on the wood signaling her approach.

Tidus said nothing as he got up from his sitting position on the deck floor, walked toward Yuna and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. He pulled away slowly, leaving Yuna there with her eyes closed. She slowly opened them, a look of confusion on her face. Tidus grinned at her reaction.

"Tidus?"

"Impulse. Sorry!" He put his hands up in mock defense. 

Yuna giggled. "No need to apologize...I-I kinda liked it." She turned her face away, feeling a slight blush creeping up on her cheeks. She smiled. Only he could ever make her feel this way.

"So...um. I was wondering just what you were doing in Luca today... I'm feeling kinda lost. Hehe." He rubbed the back of his head. "From the looks of it, you're really famous now, huh?" 

She leaned up against the railing and gazed over the water. "If you haven't heard already, I've been appointed Grand Maestress of Spira. It's a lot of work, but I want to feel the peoples' hope, dreams, and strength. We've come so far...since then." She looked up at Tidus. "It makes me happy, you know?" She continued. "Today I'm going to be giving a speech about the rebuilding of _Zanarkand_, actually... " 

"Zanarkand?" The name alone caught his attention.

"It's strange you know? I thought that today was going to be so difficult because..." she hesitated. 

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry..."

Yuna shook her head. "...I'm just glad you're here." She smiled at him warmly, and he smiled back. "We're supposed to meet Kimahri in front of the big blitzball stadium; he went a little early to make sure things were going right with the preparations and everything."

Tidus laughed a bit. "I wonder how the big guy is doing?" He nudged Yuna on the shoulder. "Does he help you with blitzball too?"

Yuna laughed a bit too. "You know how much he hates getting into the water! During my practice with Wakka and the team, he usually just watches from the beach..." she said, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Yuna. We're here." Lulu had come from behind them.

"Really?" She looked over the bow to see Luca inching closer. "I didn't even notice!"

"Yeah, me neither!" Tidus looked in the same direction Yuna did. 

Lulu allowed a slight smile to come to her lips. In the past, it had been different. Yuna would be leaning on the rail, just like she was now, but with a sad expression on her face; a sense of longing evident in her features. Yuna would be the first to catch sight of Luca, tell everyone about it, and walk slowly off the boat, practicing her fake smile for the people.

"_It's a blessing that he's come back to us, isn't it?_" 

************

The boat docked, and everyone got off, only to be greeted by crowds and crowds of people. Even after all of this time, Yuna still hadn't gotten used to it. The whole experience still frazzled her.

"Lady Yuna! This way please." A man dressed in Crusader's armor had made his way through the crowd.

"Yes. Thank you." She followed him, with Tidus in tow. 

"Oh, and Sir Tidus? It is an honor to finally meet you." He bowed deeply. "I am Yeivel, of the Young Person's Alliance of New Yevon."

"New Yevon?" Tidus was puzzled.

"I'll tell you about it later! We're going to be late!" Yuna grabbed his hand and followed Yeivel through the crowds. Wakka had come up behind them, with Lulu and Rikku close behind. 

Tidus became short of breath by the time they had made it to the blitzball stadium. They had met up with Kimahri there, and he was stoic, as usual. He turned to Lulu for an explanation; Yuna looked too busy getting her speech ready, Rikku was watching over Yuna and helping her calm down, Wakka was currently keeping the reporters away, and Kimahri...just stood there. "Does this happen every time Yuna has to come here?!"

"Yes." Lulu started to explain, "It seems that ever since Sin was defeated, everyone seems to have put her up on a pedestal of sorts. She keeps saying that everyone, especially you, helped to defeat Sin; but since she was the summoner...well. You know the rest."

"Lulu? What about this Yeivel guy? What's his deal with Yuna? And what the heck is New Yevon?"

Lulu looked past Tidus and saw Yuna step up to the balcony. She extended her hand out to quiet him. "Hold your questions until later." She looked his direction and smiled to comfort him. "All will be answered in due time, don't worry. For now, just listen to her. She needs your support, ok?"

"Gotcha." He whispered. 

Yuna opened her mouth to speak, and looked upon the crowds gathered in the stadium. "Zanarkand. A city dead for more than a thousand years. Many of you have come to me for my opinion on what to do about the city now that Sin is gone. If the people could work together to rebuild all of Spira, they can work together to rebuild Zanarkand to the way it once was. It will be for us, a new world; a bright and vibrant machina city where we can all thrive. We no longer need a reminder of the power of Sin's destruction...and sadness. Here is what I propose..."

Tidus was mesmerized by Yuna and her innate skill at this sort of thing. "_Zanarkand, huh? That'll be interesting._" He smiled to himself. "_I guess it's Yuna who's going to show me my Zanarkand, not the other way around!_" He looked up toward the crowds, awed by the sheer number of people that had come out to hear Yuna speak. A flash of metal caught his eye, the light making him squint his eyes. "_What the---?_" As the flash before his eyes subsided, he could make out someone...a guado.

He was holding a machina gun, and it was currently pointed at Yuna. Tidus' eyes widened at this realization. He saw a shift in the guado's weight, and knew that it was his time to move. 

Yuna was oblivious to all that was going on as she continued her speech. "Zanarkand's location near the ocean carries many advantages, blitzball being one of them..."

Tidus started to run towards her, the events starting to unfold in slow motion. He saw the sniper pull the trigger. Once. twice. The gun made no sound as it was fired; it must have been fitted with a silencer. "_No! Please...let me get there in time!_" He leapt from where he was, taking Yuna down with him. He felt something tear through his torso as he fell, though he still attempted to shield Yuna from the impact with his arms wrapped tightly around her.

"T-Tidus?! What's going on?"

"Yu...Yuna...you're in danger..." Tidus' voice came out weakly.

"Tidus? I don't understand!" She was distressed by his odd behavior. She tried to get up from under him, only to be pinned down by his weight. Her hand brushed against his torso and came back wet. She gazed upon her hand in horror. "_Blood?_" 

"Yuna." Tidus was getting weaker by the moment, as the blood began to pool around him, staining his yellow jacket and Yuna's long sleeves a deep crimson. 

Yuna's body began to shake with sobs. "Why Tidus, why? I could've cast a shield, I could've deflected it, I could've...! You didn't have to! I..."

"Shhh." Tidus put a finger to her lips. "Just tell me you'll remember this one thing from now on."

Yuna's vision was becoming blurry from her tears. "Anything."

"This is **our story** now. We live it... together."

*******************

Author's Notes:

Whooooa! Has it been a whole *month* since I last updated? I'm sorry I'm sorry, a thousand times I'm sorry! (If you've seen Fruits Basket, imagine Ookami or Ri-chan-san. ^_^) My excuse? A combination of writer's block and midterms. Now that those tests are over, whoo! Time to write, right? The problem isn't the idea, it's all in the execution. *nudgenudge* Isn't that right Shad? hehe. (Check out her fics _Dreams Come True and Remembrance_! *plugplug!*)

The creative process for this chapter? A Noelle fueled on Flaming Hot Cheetos ;-). As you could probably tell, the action is picking up in this fic, (or at least I'm trying to make it do so...) so hold on, I'll try not to leave you guys on this cliffhanger for too long. I'll continue to make up for my busy ( or...lazy) self by continuing to get these long chapters out for all you wonderful people!

Some references in this chapter: 

- The beginning quote is yet another translation from the Japanese version of FFX. It's from Yuna in the Calm Lands. "I'm not lost..."

- Yeivel really is part of the Young Person's Alliance of New Yevon! If you've seen the translation of Another Story, you'll see it's true. He was actually trying to get Yuna to join his group, annoying Wakka in the process. 

- The fact that Yuna wanted to feel the people's strength? Check out the translation to her song, "Feel." 

Thank you so much for your continued support through reviews, emails, and AIM! Drop me a line! I love talking with my reviewers. All of you guys are awesome, and heck. Every time someone comments on my work, I get inspired even more! So keep your comments coming in, and be constructive! :-)

Long author's notes, huh? You're not the only one Fire Rules! ;-)


	6. Endless Road

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X or any of its characters. I *do* own the cool two poster set of Yuna and Tidus though! Wow...so pretty...*sparklesparkle*

Character thoughts are in "_italics._" Mirai e tsuzuiteru...

****************

_She asked me if would stay till the end._

_The end? There is no end for us. There never will be._

_No, not till the end. _

_Always._

****************

Final Fantasy X: Beginnings

Chapter Six: Endless Road

***************

"This is **our** story now. We live it...together." Tidus said, a firm resolution in his voice. 

"Tidus..." Yuna was at loss for words. She hugged him tenderly from their position on the floor. "Tell me if you feel this, ok?" She closed her eyes and concentrated, her body beginning to glow a faint green. In time, both of their bodies we surrounded by the warm glow.

Tidus could feel the warmth of her curative spell, but none of its healing effects. He slowly began to panic. "Yuna...it's not working..." he managed to get out between breaths. He could feel something within him, preventing the spell from doing its work. He could tell Yuna was starting to panic as well, a look of fear was apparent in her eyes.

"What can I do for you? You just came back and I can't do anything! I--I can't...I **won't** let it end this way!" Yuna cried, her voice rising. 

"_It won't end. Not now._" His resolution was still firm. "Yuna...the bullet. There's something different about it," he moved a bit to feel his own wound, causing a sharp pain to shoot up his side. "Aaah! I-it's got to have a shell on it or something...!"

Yuna, seeing Tidus in pain, regained her composure quickly. "Don't move Tidus! Let me take care of it..." She looked up towards her other guardians. "Help me get him up! Quick!"

Kimahri was the first to move, the other guardians were still in shock from the events that had just unfolded before them. He gently picked Tidus up, getting him into a sitting position against the balcony wall. He paused and turned to Yuna before leaving Tidus there. "Yuna. Kimahri smell magic; bad magic."

"Yes...this is too strange..." Yuna got up as Tidus was lifted off from her, she was about to brush a few strands of hair from her face, but upon noticing the deep blood stains on her sleeves, she decided against it. She looked up to Kimahri. "Kimahri! Try to find that bullet! We're going to get it out!" She looked back towards Tidus, slumped over in the corner, but still holding on. He still seemed in apparent pain.

"Aaah!" Every time Tidus attempted to move, he lost a little energy as he did so. 

"Tidus! Don't move!" Yuna immediately came by his side, her hands taking his jacket out of the way to see the wound. "Looks like it's got a poison spell attached to it..."

Rikku came to kneel down beside Yuna, her hands searching through her pockets, and handed something to Yuna. "Yunie, let him drink this, it should help." She smiled at her; a gentle reassurance that things would be ok.

Yuna looked down at what she had given her. It was an Elixir, something she hadn't had the need to use since... back then. "Thanks..." her voice sounded far away, even to herself. She snapped out of it quickly however, and turned her attention toward Tidus. She brushed a few strands of hair from his face and lifted his chin up slightly. "Here...drink this," she said gently.

"Sure thing, Grand Maestress..." he said and grinned his distinctive smile; even in his current state. He let Yuna pour the potent potion into his mouth, and immediately began to notice his wound closing up as he drank more. His energy came back little by little as his wound slowly disappeared, and the poison with it. The bullet made an audible clank on the stone surface of the balcony as it was ejected from his body. His head shot up suddenly; his whole body rejuvenated, and his senses restored. "Gaaaaah!"

Yuna and Kimahri were still by his side, both breathing audible sighs of relief. 

"Tidus! We were worried, ya?" Wakka said worriedly. Lulu nodded in agreement.

Rikku smiled widely. "The special Al Bhed blend really does the trick huh?" She was happy for his recovery as well. 

Tidus still couldn't believe his encounter. He checked under his bloodstained jacket to find his skin smooth and unscarred. He looked up to see all of his friends over him. "I'm ok...I think?"

Yuna hugged him tightly. "Thank goodness."

"He's ok, ya?!" Wakka yelled to the people in the stadium, and they started applauding. 

Tidus was awed that everyone cared for him so much. He stood up slowly to wave to the people and to meet the eyes of his friends.

"_So this is what it feels like to have family, huh? It's kinda...nice._"

********************

As Yuna and her guardians walked out of the stadium, they were greeted suddenly by a worried Yeivel. 

"Grand Maestress! Are you okay? How is Sir Tidus? Do you want me to find out who did this? What will you do about the speech on Zanarkand? And what about..." He was going hysterical; how was he going to get Yuna to join the Alliance if he couldn't do anything for her?

"Umm..." Yuna was at a loss for words, she was still frazzled from the whole thing. Her hand was intertwined with Tidus', she didn't want to lose sight of him...especially now.

"Hey..." Tidus started, he could see Yuna was beginning to become distressed.

Wakka butted in. "Just go away, ya?!"

Yeivel saluted them (though slightly discouraged). "Yes sir! I'll find out as much as I can!!!!" With that he ran off. 

Wakka shook his head. "Weird kid...he never changes." He turned back towards the group. "Hey, let's all go home, whaddaya say?"

As soon as he said this, Kimahri quickly walked past all of them and on to the waiting ferry. He silently turned around, crossed his arms and...stood there. This earned him a weird look from Tidus, he still wasn't used to the Ronso's way of doing things. Yuna laughed. Same old Kimahri, always looking out for her.

"Yes...let's go home." Yuna tugged on Tidus' hand, and Wakka, Lulu and Rikku followed right behind her. 

Tidus could've swore he saw the Ronso smile as he passed him by to enter the boat. It was a funny smile, but he liked the thought that the usually unemotional Kimahri had been worried about him too.

*********************

The whole boat ride had been uneventful, as everyone had been silent the whole trip. Tidus understood...maybe. He had almost died. Again. His aquamarine eyes passed over the calm waters, spotting Besaid in the distance. He looked next to him to see Yuna lost in thought, her eyes looking nowhere in particular. He noted sadly that her sleeves were still stained with _his_ blood. *_Why do I always make her worry so much without meaning to? I have to make it up to her somehow.._.* Tidus was soon lost in thought himself, thinking of things that would cheer Yuna up to take her mind off of things.

Lulu came from behind the couple and was about to announce their arrival to the island, when the boat suddenly jolted at the dock, sending people flying down the deck...literally. 

Lulu ended up bowling over Wakka in a big heap. "Hey Lu! How's it going, love?" Wakka smiled goofily at her. His arms wrapped protectively around her waist. "You gotta be more careful these days, ya?" 

"Ow..." She rubbed a sore spot on her hip. "It's not like I can help it," she joked back. She really couldn't help being pregnant...that was more *his* fault, wasn't it? "Anyway, what just hap--*?"

She was interrupted as Rikku rolled into them, eliciting a collected "Oof!" from the two.

"Wakka, Lulu! I'm so sorry!"

Lulu, now sandwiched between two people, wasn't feeling in the best of moods. Thankfully, Kimahri didn't follow; he had found his balance on a nearby harpoon. Lulu, Wakka, and Rikku breathed a sign of relief.

"Hey, where's Yunie?" Rikku asked in her odd position.

"Right here." Yuna had landed right next to the trio, with a flustered Tidus in her arms. She had apparently acted faster than he did this time, as she took the brunt of the fall. It made an odd picture to say the least. 

"_She must've gotten faster from blitzball...or something..._" Tidus thought, it was still hard for him to imagine Yuna attempting heroics. 

"Tidus, you ok?" Yuna asked softly. 

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He smiled at her. "Thanks."

Yuna blushed a bit at this. His smile still took some getting used to. It just made her feel...*_The word? I...can't think of it. But, that's ok._* She smiled back at him, and the trio next to them all made faces at witnessing their lovey-dovey moment. 

A loud "SORRY!" came from the captain after the boat stopped moving. He came out and ran up to Yuna, who was still sitting on the boat's deck. 

"Lady Yuna, I'm so sorry! I'm kinda new at this and I misjudged the distance to the dock..."

"Hey mister! We could've been seriously injured y'know?" Rikku voiced. "And to top it all off, Yunie's been having a REALLY bad day! And..."

Lulu was about to say something, but being sandwiched between two people had its disadvantages after all. 

Yuna waved her hand towards Rikku's direction, effectively stopping her rant. She looked up towards the captain. "Everyone's fine, that's all that matters. But sir, please be more careful next time, ok?" She slowly got up on her feet, as did everyone else. 

"Yes m'lady!" He saluted. "Umm...now that we've stopped, you can get off now. The ramp has been prepared for you and your party." He bowed deeply and pointed the way. 

Tidus trailed behind Yuna as they walked off the ship. He stared at her bare shoulders, and the her honey brown hair that barely brushed them. "_The one on whom all Spira depends, huh? It's still really hard for me to believe._" 

*******************

After the short walk to the village, everyone stepped into Yuna's hut, still in silence. There really wasn't much to talk about...without raising up touchy subjects, that is. Yuna sighed and sat down abruptly on one of the couches in the living room, leaned her head back, and covered her eyes with the back of her hand. The rest of her guardians seemed to understand her feelings and left her alone to do their own business. Everyone, except for Tidus that was.

Tidus sat down next to her. "Hey, rough day, huh?"

Yuna turned her head slightly and uncovered her eyes to look at him. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"Need a hug?" Tidus smiled and extended his arms out to her. 

Yuna giggled despite herself. "You know, that's the best thing anyone's said to me all day." She leaned forward into his arms and wrapped her arms around his waist, relaxing her tense muscles as she did so. 

"Hey, I've got an idea to take your mind off of things..." Tidus said after a short while. 

"Hmm? Like what?" Yuna's head was still nuzzled in the crook of his neck.

"How does blitzball sound to you?" He grinned extra big, trying to convince her.

Yuna sat up. "Good idea, but...you just want to see me in that outfit, don't you?" she joked.

"And what if I do?" He pretended to look thoughtful.

"Shush you! I'm going to get changed!" With that, Yuna stood up, cheerfully walked to her room and shut the door. 

"_Looks like it worked_," He sighed. Tidus was relieved that Yuna was in a better mood. If possible, he wanted to make her smile _everyday_. After all, that's part of a guardian's job, isn't it? It was true that he was looking forward to seeing Yuna in her form-fitting blitzball outfit, but that wasn't the only thing. Considering her lightning quick movements back on the boat, it made him wonder just how good at blitzball she had become.

The door to Yuna's room opened, revealing the bright yellow uniform that matched Tidus' own. "I'm ready, let's go!" 

"_Only one way to find out..._" He picked up one of Wakka's blitzballs and walked out with Yuna toward the Besaid shoreline.

**************** 

Still in the hut, Wakka was bored. Rikku had gone back out to the Al Bhed Salvage ship to check up on things, Kimahri was outside doing...stuff, that left only one other person in the hut. Wakka smiled at the implication. He walked over to one of the rooms and opened the door slowly, peeking in. Lulu was currently sitting at a desk, obviously in deep thought. Wakka tiptoed in, planning to surprise her. He got as close as the back of her chair when he noticed her (flaming) right index finger.

"Remember the last time you tried to do that I almost burned the house down?" She extinguished the flame and went back to looking at her work. 

"Aw, Lu. You know I'm just jokin'..." he looked over her shoulder. "Whatcha workin' on, love?" He saw a lone bullet on the desk, with some cloth under it. He gulped nervously. "Uh...Lu? How'd you...?"

She was still studying it. "Wakka. Something's not right about it." She turned it over, her eyes and hands working in unison. 

"What do you mean?"

"This person meant business. So far, I've found Bio, Silence, Shell, Reflect and...Doom attached to this bullet." She sighed. "This was meant for Yuna, and if Rikku hadn't acted as fast as she did well..."

"But who would want Yuna dead?" Wakka was puzzled. 

"It is inevitable that someone would be displeased with the current leadership...but judging from this, whoever it is, this person's got a deep grudge against her." Lulu said thoughtfully.

"Hmm. At least that Yeivel guy's working on it. As much as I dislike that kid..."

"I'll have to ask Tidus about what he saw later," she stood up, stretched her arms and let out a yawn. 

"You work too hard Lu!" He put his hand on her shoulder. "Since blitzball practice is canceled today, how about you and me go out for the night?"

"Wait, before we go, do you think we have any pickles and ice cream around here?" Lulu rubbed her stomach. "I've got the weirdest craving..."

Wakka slapped his forehead. "Not again," he groaned jokingly. 

********************

Yuna's legs splashed water up as she literally swam circles around Tidus. She surfaced suddenly, took his head in both of her hands, and dragged him underwater. She was expecting him to surface quickly, but he just smiled at her from underwater. "_Oops...forgot about that..._" She eventually had to surface for air. 

Tidus tossed her the ball, and she bounced it a few times on her head, laughing as she did so. "Hey, that's pretty good!" he shouted out to her. 

"I feel... like a seal... or something!" she said in between bounces. "Get ready!" She leaned her head back and started a back somersault.

Tidus was mesmerized by her skill. "_In two years she's become *this* good? Playing alongside Yuna would be interesting to say the least..._"

Yuna continued her back somersault, her head becoming partially submerged in the water, and her foot just barely making contact with the ball. 

"_She'll be like one of the 'guys'! Heh._" He laughed to himself. Yuna? Going out to bars and fending off screaming fan girls? "_Wait, _fan_ boys..._" It made him a bit jealous at the thought. 

"POW!" Yuna's foot connected with the ball, sending it flying toward Tidus' direction. After landing and realizing that he wasn't really paying attention, she attempted to warn him. "Tidus! Watch out!"

"Huh?" Yuna's voice jolted him out of his straying thoughts, though a little too late. The ball made contact with his face, sending him splashing into the water, and the ball bouncing back to Yuna. She swam quickly to where he was. 

She pulled him up out of the water. "Are you ok?" she asked worriedly, a bit embarrassed. It was her fault, after all. 

He rubbed his forehead tenderly. "Whoa, I think you'd give Keepa a run for his money the way you shoot!"

"You really think so?" This was the first time he'd complimented her, and it felt...nice. 

He smiled at her. "Yup."

She blushed at his compliment, and also at his smile. He had smiled like that on the boat before, and every time he did, it caught her off guard. She handed him the ball slowly, as a sort of apology, and smiled a little guiltily as she did so. 

Little did she know, that he was thrown off guard every time she smiled as well. It just didn't show as much. He wondered if he was obvious about it on the pilgrimage...but shook the thought out of his mind quickly. "Hey, you wanna work on holding your breath today?"

"I thought you'd never ask!" 

************ 

Back on the beach, The corners of Kimahri's mouth upturned slightly as he watched the splashing couple. Some things never change. 

_****************_

Author's notes: 

Wow. A big sorry (again) for the long wait! I've been really busy at school, seeing as things are winding down to the final weeks. Chances are, with finals coming up for me and all, you won't see another update until my summer vacation. But let's hope not, ok? If you're still following this story, thanks! I'm SO glad my slow updating methods haven't driven you away...yet. 

Now for story stuff, I was really diggin' out of a hat trying to come up with a chapter name. So if it doesn't make sense, now you know why. Same with the opening quote. And most of the chapter. Um. My groove WILL come back soon! Something pretty trippy (I think) is that most of the individual scenes were done on different days of the week. Cool, huh?

The Japanese at the top is from Tidus and Yuna's song _Endless Love, Endless Road_. "It continues into the future..."

Keep those reviews coming in, and *please* be constructive! Ideas for upcoming chapters wouldn't hurt either...*winkwinknudgenudge* and by all means, feel free to bother me by email or IM if I'm really pissing you off by not updating within the same month. (Hehehehe...) ;-)

Till next time everyone! Love ya all. :-)

*Update (5/28/02) Fixed a little grammatical thing. Thanks for pointing it out Fire Rules! :-)


	7. Hope Eternal

Disclaimer: I don't own FFX or any of its characters. But hey! At least I can draw (eeer...doodle) them! It's a start. ;-)

Character thoughts in "_italics._" Suteki da ne?

***************

Yuna found herself walking on the streets of Luca, her black boots making echoing sounds on the pavement. She stopped and looked up to the clear blue sky, shielding her eyes from the sun.

"_Spira has been given the Eternal Calm, but..._" Talking to no one in particular she whispered, her features bittersweet. 

"My life seems anything *but* calm these days..."

**************

Final Fantasy X: Beginnings

Chapter Seven: Hope Eternal

**************

Yuna felt a tap on her shoulder, making her jump.

Tidus came to stand next her, and also looked up to the sky where Yuna had been looking. "Something up there?" he asked curiously. 

"No, just...thinking." She replied a bit hesitantly. She smiled up at him, trying not to make him worry about her. 

"Haha. Ok. I'll let you keep your thoughts to yourself. But if you ever want to talk about it..." Tidus grinned and pointed his thumb at himself. 

Yuna laughed at his antics. "Alright. I'll keep that in mind," she said as she smiled sweetly at him. "Ready to go?"

He looked over to their destination. "Yeah. Who would've thought we'd be coming back here so soon?" Yuna looked over there as well, thinking the same thing. Somehow, she'd have to get over these bad memories like she had to do with so many others in the past. 

They both started walking towards the Blitzball stadium, Yuna's fingers eventually intertwining with Tidus' as they did. 

***************

At the gate of Guadosalam, two other guardians were also searching for answers. 

"Just because Tidus said it was a Guado who shot the bullet doesn't mean they're in Guadosalam...does it?" Wakka scratched the back of his head. "Um... that's a bit racist, ya?"

"Wakka. You never cease to amaze me," Lulu said sarcastically, her braids flowing in the wind. "I know you're trying to be open-minded, but this is a logical place to look for clues about that matter."

"Well, just sayin' my bit. Don't want to start any conflicts unnecessarily, ya?"

Lulu turned to face him and smiled, just a little. "Rikku would be proud to hear you say such things." 

"Hey, speaking of Rikku, where'd you send her off to Miss Leader?" He said jokingly. 

Lulu smiled and paid no attention to the comment. "Rikku and Kimahri are out on the Al Bhed Salvage Boat to find out info where ever they can, and I also sent off Yuna and Tidus to Luca to see if they can find anything over there."

"Gotcha." Wakka motioned to the city. "Well. Since we're here, let's get this over with."

"My thoughts exactly."

***************

On the Al bhed salvage ship, another search was going underway. 

"So...Kimahri? Um. Where do you want to start looking?" Rikku asked, standing behind Brother at the helm. 

"....."

"Oook... no suggestions at all? Because if we don't find anything I don't want it to be all my fault you know!" She playfully hit his shoulder, but immediately regretted it. 

Kimahri sighed, then finally spoke. "Kimahri think that Bevelle is a good place to start. The court of New Yevon is there."

"OK! There we go! Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Rikku beamed, Kimahri just stood there, and Brother started the ship on its course to Bevelle. 

***************

Back at Luca, Yuna and Tidus had already searched the balcony of the stadium, only to find nothing. The people who cleaned up after the fiasco did *too* good of a job apparently. Asking the people on the streets of Luca was out of the question as well, since people were constantly coming in and out of the bustling city. Eyewitnesses to the event would have been long gone. 

"Wanna call it a day? Maybe the others found something huh?" Tidus said, trying to cheer Yuna up.

"Yes. I think that would be for the best," Yuna replied, looking up to meet his gaze. "And thanks for being here for me all this time...it means a lot."

Tidus leaned his head in closer to whisper, "When I said 'always' I meant it," He grinned and patted the top of her head. "...though I think that you, Grand Maestress, can handle anything!"

Yuna laughed. "Heeeey... I'm not a superwoman, you know! It's not like I can fly through the air and walk on water!" 

Tidus looked at her incredulously. 

"Well...maybe the walking on water part. Sometimes."

They both started giggling just a bit when suddenly, a man came from behind Yuna. With his hand stretching out slowly towards her, it looked like he was reaching for the money purse that hung from her obi. Tidus saw this, and dashed to try and stop him when Yuna just as suddenly whipped out her staff, spun it out behind her, then turned around, yelled, and gave the man a good whack on the head. She looked down at the dazed man, proud of her work, then looked up to a surprised Tidus. 

"Yuna...?" He looked into her eyes. He couldn't believe what he just saw. Yuna just gave him an innocent smile. 

" LADY YUUUUUUUUUNA!!!!" Another man was running towards them, with increasing speed. Tidus turned around and tried to figure out just what the heck was going on as Yuna readied herself once more for the oncoming attack, her staff poised and ready. When the man got within distance, Tidus dashed out to take care of him, not noticing Yuna's look of recognition. 

"Leave it to me!" Tidus yelled, throwing his body into the attack.

"Tidus NO! That's..!" She flinched as she heard Tidus' punch connect. The man fell to the ground with a thud, and Yuna immediately ran to his side and knelt down to have a good look at his face. "You're...you're Yeivel, aren't you?"

Yeivel groaned and opened his eyes to look up at her. "Yes...and the other guy you knocked out over there was one of us too."

Yuna looked up at Tidus, and he looked back down at her.

"Whoops."

***************

Back at Guadosalam, Lulu and Wakka were getting nowhere... or so it seemed. Once in the town, the Guado recognized them as the Grand Maestress' guardians and kept their distance. This, of course caused Lulu to become suspicious. None of this kept Wakka from doing what they came to do, however. He pulled aside Guado after Guado on the street to question them.

"Hi! Do you know anything about..." Wakka started cheerfully. 

"NO." A door was slammed in his face.

"We were wondering if you could help us with..." He motioned with his hands. 

"I'm sorry, but I really can't help you." Another door slammed. 

"Come on! Can't you tell me anything?!" Wakka said frustrated, his voice rising. 

"I have no idea what you're talking about." The Guado then went back to his blitzball conditioning. 

Wakka slumped his shoulders in defeat after about the tenth rejection. "...well. At least I tried."

Lulu leaned her head on his shoulder. "You tried your hardest, that's enough. And anyway, you've given me the best clue to this puzzle yet."

"What's that?" He asked, confused. 

"This people's reluctance. There must be some reason behind it, am I right? And it definitely has something to do with Yunaaa...AAAAH!" Lulu suddenly keeled over in pain. 

Wakka supported her in his strong arms. "Lu! What's wrong? What do you want me to do?" 

Lulu's breathing became shallow and uneven. "Pray that this is another false alarm, or get me back to Besaid. NOW."

Wakka's eyes widened at his realization of the situation. He picked Lulu up in his arms and raced to the nearest save point he could find.

***************

At the gates of Bevelle, Rikku and Kimahri were at least having a more pleasant experience. The New Yevonites there couldn't tell them anything of significance, though they had said so in an excessively pleasant manner. Rikku, not one to be discouraged, continued to ask around the city only to find many people who supported Yuna as the Grand Maestress. Well, if she decided to join their group that is. 

Rikku turned to Kimahri. "I guess we're just gonna have to just go home and see what the others got, huh?"

"...." It was Kimahri's usual reply. 

Rikku shook her head. "_With him, why do I always feel like I'm talking to a brick wall?_" 

A New Yevonite came up from behind Rikku to bid them farewell. "Thank you for coming to visit us. And please, send our regards to Lady Yuna."

"Will do! But this still doesn't mean she's going to join you guys you know." Rikku blurted out, her mouth running off before she had the chance to think about it. Kimahri frowned a bit when he heard this coming from her. 

"Yes. Of course." The New Yevonite bowed, his voice becoming softer. "We hope to see you again." With that, he departed from them. 

"Hmph! TOLD him! Didn't I?" Rikku boasted.

"....." Kimahri paused for a bit in thought then started to walk back to the ship.

"HEY! What's that supposed to mean?!" 

***************

Everyone eventually made their way back to Besaid. Yuna and Tidus walked off of the S.S. Likki and started to head back to the village.

"Hey Yuna?" 

"Yes?" She turned to face him. 

Tidus appeared deep in thought. "You know, those people back at Luca were acting a bit strange you think? I mean, if the guy just wanted to talk to you, he coulda made it look like he wasn't trying to attack you... right?"

"I agree. I thought we wouldn't find anything there, but this certainly raises some suspicions. I know Yeivel means well, but New Yevon still wants to gain my support or..." her brows furrowed in worry. "...take my place?"

"We'll tell Lulu about this, she might be able to put everything together." He smiled reassuringly. 

"Yes. You're right. At least we're getting somewhere with this..."

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the village, and they both started walking towards Yuna's hut. 

"Yuna? One more question." Tidus asked.

"Sure. What is it?"

"Where did you learn to do that thing with your staff? You...you've really changed you know?" Yuna looked puzzled after he said this. "... And not in a bad way!" He waved his hands back and forth in the air as a way to emphasize his point.

Yuna pulled aside the curtain of the hut, having already arrived. She gave him a small smile. "Let me just say that after a while I realized that I can't depend on my guardians for _everything_." She turned away for a moment, talking under her breath. "I guess...your leaving taught me a few things. It was for the best really..." 

Tidus pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her forehead. "Yeah. The lady summoner turned into a real superwoman while I was gone," He laughed a bit at Yuna's expression when he said this. "I'm proud of you, you know? Coming this far I mean."

Yuna, still in his arms, opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted as a whirlwind that was Wakka (with Lulu) rushed past the both of them standing in the doorway. 

"Yuna! Tidus! Help me out, ya?!" Wakka yelled as he ran past them and into one of the bedrooms. 

The both of them, still in the doorway just stood there with puzzled looks on their faces. Then, the realization hit. Tidus heard Yuna's sharp intake of breath as she clutched at his arms. "She's...she's having the baby!"

"WHAT?" Tidus' said, unbelieving. "So soon?!"

"For you it hasn't been too long, but for the rest of us, it's been a long time!" Rikku chided. She had come into the hut from behind them. She pushed at the couple in front of her. "Hurry you two! Help Wakka out!" With that, they all started running all over the hut, gathering things that Lulu might need.

Kimahri walked past all of them and into the bedroom where Wakka and Lulu were. Wakka was holding Lulu's hand, trying to calm her. Her breathing was labored, and she was starting to sweat.

"Just take it a little at a time, Lu, you can do it..." 

Lulu tightened her grip on Wakka's hand as the contractions came with more force. She cried out, the pain becoming too much for her. Kimahri came to Lulu's side. "Kimahri can help." he said, his deep voice booming.

Lulu was confused. "...How?" She said breathlessly. 

"Kimahri deliver many Ronsos on Mt. Gagazet." He looked like he was recalling some bad memory. "Make Little Ronso do many things."

Tidus, Yuna and Rikku had walked in the room at this moment, and everyone looked at Kimahri, surprised. Who knew Kimahri had potential as a midwife? After a moment, Yuna remembered the situation and went over to Lulu to put a wet towel on her forehead. "Hang in there Lulu, you'll be fine. Especially with Kimahri here!"

"Thanks Yuna." Lulu hugged her when she came in close, and Yuna hugged her back. "You're the best little sister I've ever had," She smiled at Yuna and put a hand up to stroke her face. 

Realization hit Yuna as she was witnessed this coming of new life. She thoughts went back to her vow to Yunalesca, her namesake. It became clear, what she must do now to achieve calm for herself, for Spira... she looked up to meet everyone's gaze. And... for her friends. 

_"I will defeat sorrow._

_I will stand my ground and be strong._

_I don't know when it will be, but someday, I will conquer it._

_And, I will do it without... false hope."_

*****************

Author's notes:

Hello! I'm back! And so is ff.net! Well, summer vacation time (till summer school) so hopefully I can write write, and write some more! 

As you can probably tell, I love my tough girl heroines. Since Yuna has been on her own for two years, she's gotta put that staff to another kind of use, right? Hehe. Or maybe it's 'cause I have experience swinging one around as well. ;-) Expect Yuna to have more cool moments, I just love her character too much to leave her alone. 

Also, if you thought the pairing up of Rikku and Kimahri for the search was a bit weird, I thought so too. I'm thinking of writing an all Rikku chapter one of these days (or a one-shot). Rikku needs someone to pair up with someone too, gosh darnit! Auron's out of the question, he's kinda dead at the moment, if you know what I mean.

Random bit: Did you know that in the Japanese version of FFX (just got the video DVD in the mail!) Yuna says "Thank You," instead of "I love you," to Tidus in the game's ending? Wow. This is one time I'm actually proud of getting an American end product!

As always, if you've read this far, go ahead and drop me a review! Tell me what you think of this chapter, other chapters, and future chapters! Ideas and constructive criticism are always welcome. 

Till next time! Ja mata.~


	8. Pure Heart

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X or any of its characters. Square on the other hand, does; and if they would JUST bring over some blitzballs from Japan to sell to me, I'd buy them!!! (Yup, they really do make them.)

Character thoughts in "_italics_." Natsu da! Umi da! Blitzuboooru!

*************

Tidus watched as Yuna took Lulu's child into her arms, holding him gently.

_"...She'd make a good mother you know?"_

He blushed at the thought and what it implied. He continued to watch her as she smiled and talked excitedly.

_"The way she is now, you'd never know she'd been heartbroken..."_

*************

Final Fantasy X: Beginnings

Chapter Eight: Pure Heart

*************

"Tidus, want to hold him?" Yuna asked, effectively bringing Tidus back to reality.

"Huh? Oh. Right!" Tidus said, extending his arms hesitantly. He'd had no experience with children really, except with the screaming mothers that just happened to be his fans. He accepted the child into his arms slowly, feeling a little embarrassed at his inexperience. He was thankful that the child was sleeping at the moment, because he was sure that the baby would cry. They always did. Somehow. But once in his arms, he felt a sort of peace. "_See? That wasn't so bad,_" he told himself mentally. He looked up to see Yuna watching the baby and alternately looking up at him with a slight smile.

He knew what she was thinking, and at the moment was thinking the same thing too. That maybe one day they'd have a family of their own. He gave a look back at her, showing he understood. Yet another example of words unsaid between them. 

Rikku was growing wary of the mushiness starting to build between her cousin and Tidus. No one else seemed to notice, as Wakka and Kimahri were still tending to Lulu. She looked back and forth between the two groups in the room, feeling just a little left out. "Uh... Lulu! What did you decide to name the baby?" She made it a point to talk extra loud. 

Lulu sat up in the bed, and looked at Wakka. "We've decided to name him... Chappu." The statement caused gasps of surprise from everyone but Lulu and Wakka. 

Yuna immediately came to her side. "But Lulu...!" She wore an expression of worry.

"It's ok, I've gotten over that part of my life already, and it's time for a fresh start. Though... I'd like to remember a little bit of the past somehow, you know?" Lulu could still see Yuna was worried for her. She looked up at Tidus who was still holding her newborn child. "The little one won't be a replacement for Chappu, just a happy reminder." She stroked Yuna's face. "So don't worry, ok?"

"Ok." Yuna nodded, though Lulu could tell she was still worried about the decision. 

Tidus, now a bit uncomfortable from carrying the baby too long, started to fidget; which didn't go unnoticed by Wakka, the new father. "Here brudda, let me take him, k?" He accepted Chappu into his strong arms. "Hey Lu...when can we start giving this one blitzball lessons? Next year? Or how about...next week, YA?!" He grinned extra big.

Lulu scoffed jokingly. "Ok. That's it. You don't get to hold him anymore," she said with her arms outstretched.

Wakka was about to give him to her but instead leaned in and planted a kiss on her forehead. "You know I'm jokin', love..."

"Of course." She smiled. "But give him to me anyway." 

"Awww...Lu---!" Wakka sighed in defeat. He reluctantly handed the baby over.

Almost everyone in the room laughed at their exchange. Even Kimahri smiled, just a little. 

Tidus found it odd that he wasn't really laughing this time; it seemed more like a cover than anything else. Almost like how the others laughed on the pilgrimage. There were many things weighing on his mind...

"_Like...well...um._" 

He just needed a little time to figure them out. 

***************

After the initial commotion, Wakka shooed everyone out of the hut to let Lulu get some rest. Once out in the sun, they all discovered that there was nothing to do without Lulu telling them what needed to be done. Over the course of two years, Lulu had become *everyone's* mother apparently, her becoming pregnant just added to that particular side of her. This was all news to Tidus, of course.

"So guys? Anything planned for today?" Tidus asked innocently. He was given puzzled looks by everyone and didn't know what was going on until Rikku pointed to Wakka; motioning for Tidus to be quiet with one of her 'special' faces. Tidus would've laughed at her antics, but all that came out was an embarrassing snort when he tried to hold it in. Rikku slapped her forehead and sighed. 

"Aw geez... I *knew* you couldn't handle it!" 

Rikku's comment earned her suspicious looks from Yuna and Kimahri. Wakka didn't seem to notice though. 

Wakka suddenly perked up, with his fists clenched. This surprised everyone in the group, causing them step away from him. The bright Besaid Sun just overhead didn't help matters either. "We're going to Guadosalam!" Wakka proclaimed, his finger pointing in no specific direction. 

"Why?" Yuna asked. "Did you and Lulu find something about what happened at Luca?" Wakka answered with a nod and grin. 

Rikku stopped fidgeting for a moment. "Oh yeah...with all *this* going on, I almost forgot what we were doing before!"

"Kimahri not forget. Ronso never forget." Kimahri's deep voice boomed over the two girls', bringing silence along with it. It was still a miracle when Kimahri spoke in full sentences. Well, sometimes. 

Tidus came from behind Yuna and gave her a small pat on the back. "Guess it's time we get going, huh?"

"Roger that!" She giggled. 

It was a short walk for the group to the save point in the Crusader's lounge, and an even shorter trip to Cid's airship. It was funny how he'd shout a long string of curses every time they paid him a surprise visit. 

**************

"Alright everyone. Look sharp! We're gonna go straight for the mansion since the people here are kinda...y'know," Wakka said, his voice just above a whisper. He motioned for everyone to follow him silently. Considering the way the Guado acted last time; having unnecessary attention drawn to them was the last thing they needed. 

Setting foot in Guadosalam brought back many memories for Tidus. Though since most of them had to do with Seymour, they really weren't particularly good ones. Just thinking about his *face* caused him to clench his teeth in anger. He hated how he had stood in their way, he hated his pompous attitude, he hated how he took Yuna away from him, and he *hated*...

"Hey, you ok?" Yuna had come up from the right to walk beside him, a worried look on her face. 

Still walking, Tidus noticed that both his hands were in fists, his jaw felt a little sore, and he felt tense all over. It was strange that he felt so much hate for one person, even though Seymour had been dead for a while now. Tidus took a deep breath under Yuna's watchful eye. He turned his head to meet her eyes and smiled. "I'm ok, it's just that thinking about Seymour just really...ticks me off."

Yuna clasped her hands behind her back and looked up at him. A common pose for her, though Tidus found it cute. "So just don't! What's in the past is in the past. Even that slimy old jerk..." She laughed a bit and turned her attention back to where she was going. "I can't believe I actually looked up to him once. I mean...wow! Now that I think about it, he was so... NASTY!"

Rikku, Wakka, and Kimahri turned around in front of them, only hearing the last part of Yuna's spiel. Yuna clamped her hand over her mouth, suddenly feeling very embarrassed. 

Tidus edged in front of her, making a hand gesture. "We were just talking about Seymour."

Wakka shrugged. "Oh."

Rikku giggled a bit at Yuna. "Gotcha."

"...." Kimahri said nothing, as usual. 

All three of them understood completely and turned back around. Tidus was thankful that they did. He surprised Yuna just a bit when he craned his neck around to land a quick kiss on her lips. "Thanks for worrying about me, I appreciate it, " he said, whispering into her ear. 

She smiled and kissed him back, tiptoeing just a bit to reach him. "No problem, Blitz Ace."

He was thankful he had someone like her to watch over him. In time he would tell her everything that bothered him lately. In the back of his mind he wondered if his mother could control his old man's spastic temper so easily... 

His thoughts were interrupted by Wakka's loud knocks on the mansion door; as they had already arrived at their destination. 

The heavy door of the mansion opened slowly, as if the person behind it was being cautious. A pair of Guado eyes appeared in the shadows, carefully scanning the visitors. Curious, Yuna peeked over Rikku's shoulder to see what was taking so long to open the door. Upon seeing the Grand Maestress, the Guado suddenly became nervous. He patted down his well pressed uniform, and opened the door swiftly, surprising the people that stood in front of it. 

"G-Grand Maestress Yuna! Please! Come in!" He bowed extra low for her.

Tidus looked to his right to see Yuna astounded at his display. "Thank you sir..." She bowed to him as well. Tidus grinned inwardly. Yuna still had some things to learn about handling fame and what you could do with it. Somehow though, he couldn't imagine Yuna reacting in any other way. 

Wakka had his arms crossed and a slight frown on his face as the Guado led them through the mansion into the waiting room, which seemed to be decorated the same way it had been when Seymour was still around. Wakka's usual grin returned for just an instant. "_If we solve this thing, Lulu'll be so proud, ya?_" 

He barely noticed the blur with a blonde ponytail rush by until...

"CRUNCH!!!!!"

Rikku, just having taken a bite of a humongous apple, looked up to see everyone's attention focused on her. Her swirly green eyes darted back and forth. "Hehehe... this stuff's good!" she grinned. Then she went back to eating some more. 

The Guado doorman bowed once again to the group, "Please. Make yourself comfortable..." He then left them abruptly, probably to notify the leader... whoever that was. The clang of the heavy metal doors as they shut echoed throughout the room. 

Tidus leaned up against a wall in thought, his pose not unlike Auron's. Now that he thought about it, that Guado seemed a bit familiar. He tried to remember what made him recognize the guy, but decided to forget about it for the time being. "_They all look the same to me anyway,_" He shrugged his shoulders and got up from his place on the wall to join Rikku in getting some grub. "_Can't be thinking on an empty stomach now, can we?_"

Five minutes and a croissant later, Tidus looked up to see the doors on the other side of the room open, revealing Tromell Guado plus four other Guado guards walking in hastily, including the doorman from earlier. Tidus was amazed that he had some sort of ability to tell them apart now... He rubbed his eyes. Well, maybe just the doorman, for now. It wasn't so much his face that he recognized, it was more like his _presence_. 

The guards dispersed and Tromell walked straight up to Yuna. "So sorry to make you wait Lady Yuna...I-I just had to get some things in order...I rushed out when I heard you were here!" His voice, slowed with age, showed the slightest sign of nervousness. Or... fear? Tidus eyebrows raised in suspicion. He was never good at reading other people's emotions, especially when a guy like Auron had a hand in his upbringing. Although you'd have to be asleep not to catch that. 

Yuna coughed a bit to clear her throat. "Sir Tromell. It's nice to meet you again," she smiled, though a fake one. "As you may already know..."

Tromell suddenly burst out shouting. "I-I don't know anything Lady Yuna! D-DON'T ACCUSE ME OF ANYTHING!" 

Yuna stepped back, startled. "But..." 

One of the guards gave Tromell a look, causing him to calm down a little. He turned to face Yuna again. *Ahem* "Please, continue..."

Yuna, was weirded out by his display, and it showed. "I... was just wondering if you knew anything about the assassination attempt last week. Any information we can get would be very helpful, and be very much appreciated."

"I really don't know anything, and _I_ didn't do it!" He said this last part while looking at the doorman from earlier. The doorman scowled at Tromell, trying to get him to stop looking. 

Yuna still tried to be rational. "I never said you did, it's just that when Lulu and Wakka visited Guadosalam last time, the people were..."

"Oh, that's because I told them to!" 

Yuna was puzzled. "Told them to...what?"

Tromell realized his mistake, his face drooping. "Uh...don't mind me. You see, old age is getting to me...." he laughed a bit nervously after he said this. "If only Seymour were still here..." he said, under his breath.

Yuna's brows slightly furrowed in annoyance. "This has nothing to do with Seymour, Sir Tromell. Tell me what you know. Please."

"This has *everything* to do with Seymour! Y-You wouldn't understand! You...you...murderers!!!!" Yuna recoiled at Tromell's display of rage.

Without saying, this comment had Yuna's guardians surrounding her in a second. Tromell would have gone after Yuna, but three of his guards held him back. The Guado doorman came up to Yuna, putting his hand on her shoulder, much to Tidus' chagrin. "Grand Maestress, I'm sorry for his behavior..." 

Tidus rushed out suddenly to give the Guado a good sock to the jaw, sending him to the ground. "Don't you DARE lay a hand on her!"

Yuna was confused even more. "Tidus?! What's going on?!"

Tidus calmed down a bit, staring down at the Guado currently rubbing his sore jaw. "I knew there was something fishy about the guy at the start...

Yuna clutched at Tidus' bright yellow jacket. " Is he... someone you know?"

"Yuna, this is the guy that shot at you that day." 

Yuna covered her mouth, taking in a sharp intake of breath. In front of them, Tromell had gotten free of his guards' grasp and was currently wearing a sly smile on his Guado face. "You may know now, but I'm NOT letting you out of Guadosalam alive!" He raised his arm into the air, indicating his guards to get into battle position. 

"So that's how you want it..." Tidus pulled out his sword, getting into battle position himself. Rikku, Kimahri and Wakka soon came up beside him, creating a protective shield around Yuna. 

"FOR SEYMOUR----!!!" Tromell raised his hand up in the air, multicasting a powerful Thundaga spell. The party waited for the electric shocks to come down upon them, but heard instead the shrieks of Tromell's electrified henchmen. Apparently, their Auto-Potion ability didn't work too well against so strong a spell. Tromell looked around at his work. "Oops?" Then, to his opponents. "Oh...no..."

Rikku ran up swiftly to Tromell, executing a perfect Mug. 

[You received Dark Matter x 3!] 

"All right!" Rikku exclaimed, bouncing back to position. "...Huh?!"

Tromell was down for the count after Rikku's attack, complete with the stars floating above his head. 

Tidus put his sword away. "Now that...was sad."

Wakka shook his head. "I agree brudda."

Rikku, on the other hand was fuming. "WHAT WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!?!"

The boys ran behind Yuna to hide from Rikku's wrath. Yuna was a bit flustered. "Now don't bring _me_ into this!!!"

**************

After alerting the Guado authorities, Tromell and his henchmen were taken away, and the party was headed out of Guadosalam, and back to Besaid.

Rikku stretched her arms out. "Wow. And here I thought it was New Yevon who was after you!" 

"Yeah. I guess they only mean well..." Yuna said thoughtfully. 

Wakka grinned. "Who knew that Tromell would go all out like that? What a kooky guy."

Tidus, tagging behind the rest of the group, spoke up. "Uh, guys? Is it ok if we stop by the Farplane before we go home?"

Yuna smiled. "Of course it is." It was a place she never visited in the two years Tidus had been gone, for fear of seeing that he was actually dead. But now that he was here... it wouldn't hurt to see her loved ones again. 

"I'll be staying outside though," Rikku said as a matter of factly. "Just to let you know."

"Kimahri want to go and get Guado potions." Kimahri said out of nowhere. "Just in case."

**************

Tidus felt weird stepping into the Farplane this time, since he'd seen the other side already. He didn't know who he wanted to see, but somewhere in the back of his mind, he just had an urge to come here. The misty clouds and pyreflies swirled tumultuously as Wakka and Yuna called up their loved ones. "_I guess I could think of the old man...wonder how he's doing?_"

He looked up to see Jecht materialized right in front of him. 

Tidus waved. "Hey, old man."

"Hey there yourself son." Jecht said in his gruff voice, and grinned. 

"Wha-Wha-wha..." Tidus really wasn't expecting him to talk back...

"Geez, now don't get all worked up in front of yer old man, ok? Just sayin' hi is all..." Jecht appeared to be talking to someone behind him. "OH! So that's how it is!" He laughed. "Auron tells me here that I'm not supposed to be able to talk to you, what's up with that?!"

"Must be because I've been over there already, you think?" Tidus said, still a bit surprised. 

"Yup. That's what Braska over there says." Jecht pointed over to where Yuna was. Braska smiled and waved to Tidus. 

Tidus rubbed his eyes; things were getting weirder by the second. 

"So, son, how's it going with little Yuna? Auron tells me you're quite the couple, hmmm?" Jecht made kissy faces at his son.

"Hey. That's none of your business."

"Aww...come on! I'm your DAD!"

"Still!"

"What?!"

"Shut up."

"What did you say boy?!" Jecht flared up in anger.

Braska came over from where Yuna was to interrupt the two. He laughed at their argument. "No fighting you two. From what I've heard, Yuna's FINE. Just take care of her for me, ok Tidus? And... make her happy. Her mother and I send her our love."

"Yes, Sir Braska! I'll do my best!" He bowed deeply to him, and looked up. "And um... thanks again for sending me back to Spira, I really owe you one."

Yuna came from behind Tidus, looking a little confused. "My dad just disappeared suddenly! It's never happened...before--?" She looked up to see Braska standing next to Jecht in front of Tidus. "Wait. How did he get over here?"

"Uh, well you see, he came over to *talk* to me, if you can believe that..."

"You can talk to them?! Wow..." Yuna looked up at the figures in awe. "I wonder how Sir Auron is doing...?"

Auron appeared in front of both of them, and locked eyes with Tidus. "Tell her I'm fine." A hint of a smile could be seen under his thick collar.

*************** 

The group eventually made their way back to Besaid, where Wakka immediately went to find Lulu, to see his son and tell her the good news. Rikku went off to tinker with her new project, and Kimahri was about to just keep watch over Yuna for the time being, but seeing as Tidus was already doing just that, he decided to just take a relaxing nap in the shade. This left Tidus and Yuna alone together, something that didn't happen too often ever since Tidus had come back from the Farplane. 

Yuna, finding that she didn't have anything she had to do (except some paperwork), turned to Tidus. "Think you could help me with Blitzball today? I kinda feel like going for a swim."

"Sure. I'll go get the Blitzball." Tidus grinned. 

Yuna brushed aside the curtain and walked into the hut to get changed, Tidus in tow. He watched as she opened the door and disappeared into her room. But before she had a chance to close the door, Tidus impulsively ran over and pushed against it. Yuna's eyes appeared in the crack of the door, showing her surprise.

"I'm sorry, but...can we talk?" Tidus asked apologetically.

Yuna opened the door slowly. She could tell something was bothering him. "Sure, come in." She smiled gently. 

Tidus walked in and put his gloved hands on her bare shoulders. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. His expression showed that he was a little unsure of himself.

Yuna put her hand up to his face. "Come on, you know you can tell me anything..."

Tidus moved his hands from off her shoulders to around her waist to embrace her, his head resting on her right shoulder. "I'm sorry that I made you sad while I was gone," he whispered into her ear, "Forgive me? I didn't mean to hurt you," his voice shook as tears threatened to come from his eyes. 

"Of course I'll forgive you. But what's going on? You used to be so carefree about everything..."

Tidus raised his eyes to hers. "Well, for one, I care about a lot more things these days," he said, his voice becoming deep. He looked down at her lips and claimed them in a passionate kiss.

After a few moments, Tidus broke away, leaving Yuna breathless, and his forehead resting on hers. "I...I'll never break your heart again."

"I believe you," Yuna whispered, and tilted her face upwards to catch his lips once more. The two lovers passionately kissed more, but just as they were getting into it...

"YUUUUUUUNA! Could ya help Lulu for a sec?!" It was Wakka's voice. 

Yuna broke off the kiss, and opened her eyes. "Sorry," she giggled. "Duty calls."

Tidus unwrapped his arms from around her waist, releasing her. "One last question before you go?" 

Yuna nodded. "Anything."

"Do you think I'd make a good father? I mean, considering the grade A parenting I got..." His thoughts wandered back to how uncomfortable he felt holding infants in the past.

Yuna walked further out toward the door and opened it a little. "Hmm..." she looked pensive for a moment. And smiled before saying,

"Look at how well you take care of me..." 

****************

Author's notes: 

I'm back! (again) Summer has made me so lazy, it's unbelievable. A BIG thanks to Th' Lady Shadow for getting the creative ball rolling on this chapter with some great suggestions. So, thanks again! I really appreciate it. 

I always imagined Tromell as a bumbling old idiot, so if that's how he came across in this chapter, I've succeeded! :-) Plus, he sounds a lot like my old Physics professor. Bad memories, indeed. Oh, and wondering about my Japanese blurb up there? It's the actual name Square gave the Blitzballs they were selling! (Bah. Too bad they're sold out now...) Literal translation: "It's summer! It's the ocean! Blitzball!"

I'm gonna be moving everything (including the computer) out to a brand spankin' new apartment in LA in a few days, so don't expect the next chapter too soon... (not that any of the others have come quickly...sorry!) But I'll still be thinking of how to continue this, so send comments, suggestions , constructive criticism, whatever! I love every review I get. :-) Did I mention send suggestions? Haha. Till next time!~


	9. Ordinary Day

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X or any of it's characters. If I did, I wouldn't be a lowly (and poor) fanfic author, would I?

Character thoughts are in "_italics._" Saigo janakute. Zutto. 

*****************

_What would I say about the day in the life of a summoner?_

_It's a question I often got. _

_I always said, "It's difficult..." and smiled. _

_But what about my life now? I can only describe it as..._

_Wonderful._

_***************_

Final Fantasy X: Beginnings

Chapter Nine: Ordinary Day

**************

"Aah..." Yuna stretched out her arms and sat up in bed. She shielded her eyes with the back of her hand, still getting used to the warm morning light spilling in through her bedroom window. "_Today's going to be another good day. I just know it._ _Especially since that whole Guadosalam thing is over, I can do anything I want..._" her thoughts wandered back to her work and responsibilities. " _Well, *almost* anything._" She giggled. She swung her feet over the side of the bed and slipped her feet into her favorite fuzzy slippers. Glancing at the clock, she figured everyone would be sleeping still. She struck a pensive pose. "_Now... what to do?_" A hint of a smile crossed her features as an idea can to mind. She opened her door and walked out in excitement; quietly, of course. 

**********

Tidus turned over in his sleep upon Yuna's arrival into the living room, even though she had been careful with her footsteps. She stopped for a moment, and upon hearing his heavy breathing, she proceeded onward to the couch. "_We really should get his something better than *this* to sleep on one of these days..._" She crouched down to his level, and reached out to him...

It took a little bit of time, but Tidus woke up laughing. "HAHAHAHAHAhahahaaaa...Yuna! HAha! S-stop it already!!!! HEheee..."

Yuna gave him a sly smile and continued her tickling onslaught. Pretty soon she joined in with him in his laughter. 

Seeing that she was distracted for moment, Tidus sat up and grabbed Yuna's wrists so she couldn't tickle him anymore, bringing up a surprised look from her. Besides, his stomach was starting to hurt from all of the laughing. He gave her a grin. "Ok, now that was _real_ cute, Miss Yuna."

"I know." She said cutely, and smiled. "Good morning!"

"Ha. Mornin'."

After a few moments, her eyes looked down to his hands on her wrists. "Now, um. Can you let go? I have some work to do..." She tried looking apologetic.

Tidus looked down at his hands, and promptly opened them. "Whoops. Sorry about that."

Yuna giggled. "It's ok... handsome." The last word sounded strange coming out of her own mouth.

Tidus was surprised by the sudden turn of events, but decided to play along. " Thanks for waking me up... beautiful." He tried to be as serious as possible, but of course, that didn't work. He laughed, just a little embarrassed. "Sorry, I'm not so good at this..." 

"Neither am I, if you couldn't tell," Yuna said. "I just wanted to try it and see what happened. But... I-I really do think you're handsome...you know. That wasn't a lie..." She titled her head down slightly, feeling her face flush.

Tidus reached out to stroke her hair. "And you, are beautiful, Grand Maestress." 

"You really think so?" She became nervous as she realized how close their faces were.

Saying nothing, he tilted her chin up to kiss her on the lips. 

*********

Rikku chose that moment to come into the living room, ready to cross into the kitchen to make some breakfast. Being as she wasn't so wild about Wakka's cooking attempts, she took it on herself to make sure she didn't drop dead on the dining table. She smiled to her self as she bounced into the room. "_Won't everyone be ... surprised?_" She suddenly stopped herself when she discovered that... 

Tidus and her cousin were right in front of her, obviously in a private moment.

If she was just a little bit more brave, or if she was Lulu, she would've come up with some witty remark. Unfortunately at the time, she was neither of these things. 

Feeling like she was intruding on something, she rushed out of the room as quietly as she could, and hid in the hallway. She was surprised to find herself breathing heavily and her heart beating fast, adrenaline pumping through her veins. 

"_I didn't mean to, it just happened! And it's YUNIE! I mean I've known they were like *that* and all..._" 

She put her hand to her chest, feeling the rhythmic beating just starting to die down. "_But still... it hurts, you know? Not having someone like that..._"

*********

Time passed, and soon it was time for breakfast. Wakka, wearing his favorite red apron, stepped out of the kitchen triumphantly.

"HAHAHA! Wait 'till you guys taste THIS!" He set the plates on the table so roughly it clanked loudly before settling down. 

Yuna had a confused look on her face, something Lulu noticed among all the commotion. "Yuna?"

"Wasn't someone else supposed to cook today?"

"Yes. But *he* made it to the kitchen first. Just our luck," Lulu whispered into her ear. "Luckily, little Chappu isn't old enough to eat it!" Chappu gurgled in his mother's arms.

They both couldn't suppress their laughter, giving Wakka something to be suspicious about. "Hmm... did you say somethin' Lu?" 

"No nothing at all, just telling Yuna about the Baby Shower plans for next week is all..." as always, Lulu kept a straight face.

"Uh huh...." Wakka wasn't buying it, as his expression showed. Since being married to her, he'd been able to understand the black mage's subtle ways just a little bit more. Emphasis on the _little_. 

Tidus looked at the plate of "stuff" then back to Wakka, then to the "stuff" again. He pointed cautiously to it. "Uh... What is it?"

Wakka flashed a bright grin to everyone around the table. "It's my CHOCOBO SPECIAL! Chocobo eggs, meat, the greens they eat, _and..._ special sauce!" 

Tidus gulped. "Special sauce? Uh oh." 

Wakka frowned a bit. "What did you mean by that, brudda?!" He waved his spatula in the air. 

Yuna was expecting Rikku to come up with some witty remark to brighten things up, though it never came. Instead, Rikku just sat at her place at the table, head resting on her palms, and her eyes looking down at the plate of "stuff" with a faraway look. She had been as silent as Kimahri the whole morning, giving Yuna something to worry about. 

"_I'll have to talk to her later... best not to bring it up in front of everyone._"

Tidus looked to Yuna, bringing her out of her thoughts. "Uh. Let's eat?" He gave a lopsided smile.

She giggled, and spooned a bit of the "stuff" onto his plate. 

"Wha--?"

She smiled innocently. "You first."

********** 

Rikku had gotten up from the table earlier than everyone else, something that wasn't uncommon for her to do with all of her various machina projects lying around. Just as she was going out the door, Yuna stood up from her place at the table to rush over to her cousin, surprising her. 

"Rikku, your uh..." she looked desperately around her, and spotting something, ran back to Rikku. "Your goggles! You can't forget them..."

Rikku turned to look at her cousin over her shoulder. "Yunie?"

Yuna gently pushed her cousin out the door. "So what are you working on today, hmm?" Rikku was thoroughly confused. Once out the door, Yuna pulled aside the curtain and looked back to make sure no one followed them; letting out a sigh of relief. Yuna took her hands off her cousin's shoulders playfully and jumped in front of her. "Here ya go," she said, handing Rikku her goggles. 

Rikku accepted them awkwardly, and lifted her eyes to meet Yuna's. "Yunie... you're acting really weird this morning, y'know..."

Yuna smiled gently and walked up to her slowly, deciding to drop the act. "You were too, and that's why I did all this." She titled her head to the side. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Rikku scratched her cheek, thinking a bit. "Maybe..."

"Yuna! Come finish your food, ya?!" It was Wakka's voice from inside the hut. 

Yuna turned her head toward the voice. "Just a minute, Wakka!" She put a hand on Rikku's shoulder. "If you still want to talk, I'll be working all day so feel free to bother me anytime. Ok?" 

Rikku nodded and moved closer to hug her cousin. "Thanks Yunie..." Rikku smiled a bit, then ran off, leaving dust in her wake. 

Yuna walked back into the hut, and sat down at her place next to Tidus. 

Tidus looked concerned. "Is everything alright?" 

Yuna nodded, resting her elbows on the table. "Mmhmm..." just noticing her arm, she saw the traces of something wet. 

"_Rikku..._" 

**********

"_And this goes here... have to sign this..._" Yuna flipped through yet another stack of papers and sighed. "_Almost done, then I can blitz..._" she laughed at herself. "_I'm beginning to sound like Tidus! Not that it's a bad thing, mind you..._" She scooted over to another pile of documents, one in particular catching her eye. 

"_My speech about Zanarkand..._" she paused in thought. That hadn't a particularly good day for her, considering all that had happened. She thought that she was going to lose him then. Again. She felt a little uneasy thinking of these things, putting her speech into a nearby cabinet. "_Though someday, it would be nice to have a fully restored Zanarkand, wouldn't it? It's time I started thinking positive thoughts about that place for a change..._" 

Yuna would've kept daydreaming if someone hadn't just knocked at the door. "Come in!" she yelled from her desk, not bothering to get up. 

"Hey Yuna. It's me." A deep voice said from behind her. 

Yuna smiled and turned in her chair to face him. "What's going on, Blitz Ace?"

Tidus laughed, and bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Just here to tell ya that I'll be out with Wakka and the Aurochs for most of the day, so if you need me, that's where I'll be. Would be nice if you could come out too, you know?" 

"Yeah... I wish I could, but I have these things to take care of, so I'll probably be in here all day!"

Tidus gave her a playful pat on the back. "Hah! Nothing is too much for the _Grand Maestress_!" He grinned. "Feel better yet?"

Yuna giggled. "If this is about how I walk on water again, I'm not going to tell you my secret."

Tidus snapped his fingers. "Darn." He started to walk towards the door. "I'll see you later, k? Don't work too hard," he said smilingly. With that, he was gone, and on his way to fun in the sun. 

Yuna sighed and turned back to her work, now looking over the preparations for her scheduled appearances around Spira. "_You know, it's not so bad... I loved Spira enough to die for its people once, so why give up now? I want to feel the people's warmth and strength because that is my motivation to go on..._" She smiled. Eyes full of determination, she became more efficient in her tasks as time passed. 

**********

It was already early afternoon when Yuna heard a knock on the door behind her. Deciding that now would be a good time for a break as any, she stretched, got up, and walked over to open it, surprised to find her cousin on the other side. 

Rikku looked in better spirits than in the morning. "_Almost back to her normal self,_" Yuna thought happily. "Hi Rikku. Come on in!" Yuna let her in, and closed the door after her. "Have a seat," she scooted her chair over so that Rikku could sit on it, and pulled another chair from the corner of the room for herself. 

"Thanks," Rikku sat down in the chair, her voice sounding a little distant. 

"No problem," she smiled. She placed a hand on Rikku's. "Now, I know there's something bothering you. Ready to talk about it?"

Rikku nodded her head. "But... I'm a little embarrassed to tell you 'cause... um..."

"It's ok, you can tell me anything."

Rikku shifted in her chair. "Well, today... um... IkindawalkedinonyouandTidus." 

Yuna was kind of getting what she said, but wanted to be sure. She thought a bit, not wanting to guess the wrong thing. "You saw me and Tidus this morning? What's so bad about that?" In an instant, her eyes showed that she understood. "Oh, Rikku... I..."

She shook her head. "No, don't apologize Yunie, I think I just let it get to me, you know? You and Tidus make such a nice couple, and I'm happy for you, but... what about me? I don't mean to be selfish, but..."

"I think I understand what you're trying to say," Yuna said, happy that Rikku had finally opened up to her. "And it's perfectly ok to feel that way... I think I might've felt the same way when he left..." Her words tapered off, her voice becoming soft.  


Rikku was captivated by her cousin's words. Of course she had felt the same way, she had been heartbroken for two years. Compared to her cousin's loss, hers didn't seem all that bad, perhaps. "_It's just that... Yunie got her happy ending, so what about mine?_" She regretted thinking such a thing, it seemed so horrible. "_She deserves a happy ending, and_..."

Yuna was still sitting there, waiting for Rikku to say something. 

Rikku looked up, "You know, I think that I need to find my own happy ending," she smiled. "Or maybe, I'll have to wait a little longer for my story to come around. What do you think?"

Yuna was surprised by all of this, coming from Rikku no less. "I think you've got it right on target. But don't hurry things too much, things never turn out well that way at all... but then again, since Tidus just came out of nowhere, I can't really be much help to you with that..."

Rikku sighed, dreamy eyed. "I wish my guy would come floating out of the sea for me..." 

Yuna giggled. "It's not like I planned it that way!"

After a few moments of awkward silence between the two, Rikku spoke up. "Yunie, can I let you in on a little secret? And promise you won't get mad?" Yuna nodded, encouraging her to go on. "Well, I used to have a crush on Ti... him. And... I was a little sad when I had to let go. I... just wanted to get that out," she said, getting a little choked up. 

Yuna lay her hand on Rikku's shoulder. "Thanks for being honest with me. But it sure looks like you could use a hug. What do you say?" It was the same way Tidus had consoled her after the whole disaster at Luca. "_Seems like I *am* turning out to be more and more like him..._" She thought amused, extending her arms towards her cousin, a gentle smile on her face. 

Rikku took her up on her offer, leaning forward in her chair, and wrapping her arms around Yuna's waist. "Thanks Yunie, I feel so much better just talking to someone..." She let her pent up emotions go, her tears wetting Yuna's white sleeves. 

Yuna absent mindedly stroked Rikku's hair, consoling her. "Shh... it's ok. Whenever you need to, you can always talk to me, ok?"

"Mhmm..." Rikku's voice was muffled in Yuna's arms. 

"Hey. I've got an idea..." Yuna said, a lilt in her voice. "How about you help me with holding my breath today?"

Rikku lifted her head and pulled away from Yuna just a bit. "Me? But I don't even play blitzball!"

"Well you should! And besides, since girls can _obviously_ do it better, it's a wonder I haven't asked you before!" She said jokingly.

Rikku smiled. "Well, I _can_ hold my breath longer than most of the Aurochs out there..."

Both girls stood up laughing, and after Yuna changed into her blitzing clothes, they were out the door and off to the ocean, where everyone else was practicing for the big game against the Goers. Surprisingly, Lulu was out on the beach today, enjoying the breeze, watching Wakka and taking care of Chappu. When the girls both passed her by, she opened her mouth to say something, but was drowned out by their excessive splashing once they rushed into the water. She wondered how long it would take Wakka and the boys to notice the girls in the stretch of water just across from them, since at the moment, they seemed so into learning just how Tidus did the 'Sublimely Magnificent Jecht Shot Mark III.' 

Meanwhile, after some coaching from Rikku, Yuna had submerged herself underwater. A full two minutes and forty-TWO seconds later, Yuna broke the surface, gasping for air. "How did I do?" She asked, water dripping off of her every which way. 

Rikku literally bounced in the water. "Wow Yunie! A new record! You did it!" Rikku raised her right hand in the air, palm outward.

Taking the hint, Yuna gave her cousin a high five, laughing a lot after she did, Rikku following suit. Yuna couldn't even remember the last time she did such a thing. It seemed a thing that blitzball players did pretty often, though. She laughed some more. "Maybe I'm getting closer to being a blitzer, you think?" She asked her cousin between breaths. 

Rikku grinned, lifting up her index finger in a teasing gesture. "Weeeell... once you get to five minutes, try asking me again!"

"Aww, Rikku, you---!" Yuna jumped up, dunking Rikku's head into the water, taking her by surprise. In time, Rikku got her revenge by dragging Yuna down with her, splashing wildly all the way down. 

*********

Over with the Aurochs, Tidus saw some weird splashing going on just a few feet away from where they were practicing. "_Must be some really big fish or...waaaait a minute, that's..!_" Seeing a familiar bright yellow uniform flash on the surface for a bit, and hearing the screams of a familiar blonde he knew, he pretty much figured out who was over there. The girls were still laughing, acting like the little kids they once were. 

Tidus shook his head, the corners of his mouth forming a smirk. 

"_Women._" 

**********

Author's Notes: 

Sorry for the short(er) chapter, inspiration and time to write have been pretty low for me lately. So if you were wondering about the change of pace, just take a look at the chapter title. (Is this one any better, Timmeh? ^_^) Just a day in the life, and I wanted to explore the relationship between Yuna and Rikku a little more, since it wasn't overly emphasized in the game. I mean... cousins! If you're like me (or Yuna) and have no siblings, they're all you've got! Plus, Rikku's so cool, she deserves a chapter all to herself! 

Oh, and Rikku's problem? Kinda taken from real life. I mean, can't a guy come out of the ocean for me?! Come on, FATE!

As always, read, review, and be constructive! I'm serious when I say send suggestions, because now my brain's on empty thanks to summer school. And hey! Much thanks to Shad (again) for being helpful with beta-reading and such. Read her stuff! *_plugplug_*

Wondering about the Japanese at the top? Again, it's from the Japanese FFX, meaning: "Not the end. Always." I'm sure you know what scene THAT line's from!

All the people who review this chapter are UBER-cool! Come on now, an author's got to have an ego boost every once in a while. Right? ...right?


	10. Recollection

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X or any of its characters. But I DO want to own FFX-2 one of these days! (The game, yeah. I still won't own the characters, ok?!)

Character thoughts are in "_italics._" Eiga no renshuu!!!

************

_"Am I real?"_

_I think I'm way past that thought from all that I've been though._

_The real question is: "Is this real?"_

_It's like... living in a dream. Ironic, don't you think?_

_***************_

Final Fantasy X: Beginnings

Chapter Ten: Recollection

**************

The bright Besaid sun beat down mercilessly on the Aurochs, who were practicing in the shallow waters near the beach. Tidus had finished all he needed to do, and just sat on the shore, watching Wakka and his teammates perfect yet another play. 

"_Today is the start of Blitzball season; and our big game against the Goers. Apparently, since that last match I played in two years ago, a rivalry developed. Guess they couldn't take losing to us underdogs. Wonder if those jerks have changed any?_"

He looked behind him to check if Kimahri and the girls had arrived yet. The S.S. Likki was all set to go, all it needed were its passengers. Seeing no one there, he turned back around into his cross-legged position on the rock he was sitting on. He sighed, and looked up at the clouds to pass the time. Minutes passed and...

"Hey Tidus! It's time to get goin', ya?" Wakka had gotten out of the water and was shouting from across the pier. 

He felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up to see Yuna smiling down at him, offering her hand to him. He took it, and got up; their hands staying a little longer than usual. They walked together with Rikku, Kimahri and Lulu to the ship, where the Aurochs had already boarded, stepping up on its familiar wooden planks. 

"_It helps that since Yuna's the Grand Maestress now, we get free rides almost everywhere. At least we don't have to bother Cid all the time, he's got that whole business of keeping the Al Bhed together, and helping Rikku with supplies for her machina lessons..._" He looked over to where Rikku was; leaning over the rail, she stared out into the ocean while the ship started to move away from the dock. "_Wonder how things went with her and Yuna the other day? She seems ok... I guess. Never really have been that great with girls and their complicated moods and things._"

He sat down on the deck, near the bow of the boat, so he could watch the waves go by. Behind him, he could hear Yuna practicing her shield casting with Lulu. He turned around to watch her.

"Ok... go!" Lulu held a stopwatch, the same one used for Yuna's breathing practice.

Yuna extended her hands. "WALL!" Two barriers came up, surrounding both her and Lulu. 

Lulu stopped it. "Nice, two people in two seconds," she said, smiling. The green glow of the barriers reflected off her pale skin. "You're getting to be pretty good at this."

Yuna relaxed a bit. "Thanks, I try." She looked away from Lulu for a second, her eyes locking briefly with Tidus' before she released the spell. 

"_It became really commonplace for Yuna to be practicing... especially after the assassination attempt. I mean, you never know when it could happen again. 'Course, not everyone can be happy with how a country is run... such is life. And there could also be more of Seymour's followers out there. It just seemed that taking down Tromell was just a bit too... easy. Guess us guardians really have our jobs back..."_

Tidus stretched from his cross-legged position, letting out a long yawn. The Aurochs took their practice seriously apparently, and waking up early in the mornings was part of it. He walked down to the ships' cabin, he could probably get a good nap in by the time they arrived in Luca. 

************

Tidus woke up to someone tapping on his shoulder. "Yeah, I'm awake, I'm awake..." he rubbed his eyes and looked up, surprised to find that it was Kimahri who woke him. 

"Hey!" He made a waving motion with his hand, grinning at the blue guardian.

"...."

"Right... I guess we're here, huh?" He got up and started walking up to the deck, following Kimahri's lead. 

************

The hustle and bustle of Luca was the same as always, and especially so because of the official start of Blitzball season. Tidus walked around with the rest of the group, taking in the city; it's sounds, the sights, and the people. Just being here reminded him of the first time he came here on the pilgrimage, telling the Goers off; something he was thinking of doing this year if Wakka didn't stop him first. It also reminded him of the first time he found Yuna after he had left Spira. 

"_The cameras, the crowding people, and all that sound... with Wakka and Lulu trying to desperately push them back. You know, I wouldn't mind some of the spotlight like back in Zanarkand... I kinda miss it. Guess I could make a name for myself with the Aurochs, who knows? Or maybe with that 'legendary guardian thing'..._"

Tidus, lost in thought, almost walked into one of the purple-clad Goers if it wasn't for Yuna pulling him to a stop.

"Hey! Watch where you're going....?!" The Goer's angry tone changed markedly when he realized who he was talking to.

"_This again, huh?_" Tidus thought with amusement. He put his hands up in defense. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." He looked a little more closely at the player's face. "Hair's a bit different but..." Hey, you're Bickson, aren't you?"

"Yeah, you remember me?" He smiled, aloof.

"_Boy do I ever..._" Thoughts of the taunting in the sphere pool two years ago filled Tidus' memory. He was about to go mouthing off about how the Aurochs were about to trounce the Goers again, but decided against it, after looking at Yuna for a second. Her eyes told him that she knew what he was thinking. Sighing, he faced Bickson again. "Well, good luck in the game today."

"You too. It'll be tough beating a team with the legendary guardian in it and all." He "hmphed" and walked away towards the Goers locker room. 

"Thanks." Yuna said, soft enough so that only he could hear. 

"No problem." He whispered back. "_Guess it's time I started acting more like my age... I'm not seventeen anymore._" He smiled. "_At least I'm not getting all rude and pompous like my old man... Well, hopefully._"

The party walked down the left side into the stadium toward the Aurochs' locker room, making the game all the more real to Tidus. He could even feel the familiar pre-game rush of adrenaline. 

"Tidus?" It was Yuna.

"Yeah. What's up?" He turned around, while Wakka opened the door for the rest of the Aurochs. 

"We're going to go find our seats now," she pointed towards the others. "Good luck today, okay?" She got on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. 

"Aww... we don't have time for the mushy stuff Yunie!" Rikku teased.

Tidus smiled. "Thanks."

Just then, the speakers blared with the commentators' voices, signaling the start of the festivities. 

"Yes Jimma, this is a great day for Blitzball!"

"You said it Bobba! And we've got a real treat today! The Besaid Aurochs and the Goers will go at it for the first game of the season!

"Wow. I'm getting all excited from the anticipation!"

Wakka shouted at Tidus from inside. "Hey brudda, hurry up! That means the game's gonna start soon!"

Tidus rushed in after a quick goodbye to Yuna and the others. The problem wasn't in changing into his uniform, it was going over some of Wakka's plays and assigning players to them for the half. Amusingly, part of his part to play was still to "shoot like crazy." 

"_Well, if it works, it works, right_?"

************

The crowd roared upon spotting both of the teams entering the sphere pool. Tidus looked up in the stands, spotting a glimpse of Yuna waving to him before turning to face Bickson across from him. 

The buzzer blared, loud and clear in his ears.

**Blitz Off! **The sphere pool instantly became a whirlpool of moving bodies and water trails. 

Tidus leapt for the ball, using his speed to help him to the target. Bickson looked as if he was closing in fast, so Tidus executed a quick flip to throw him off guard and kick the ball over to Letty, who immediately went into the right side formation to throw the defense off. Jassu came up the left side, with Tidus in tow, to take advantage of their distraction. The Goers had apparently forgot to take Tidus into account this game, because all of the defenders were doubling up on Wakka, the Aurochs' current primary shooter. "_Besides, they still don't know I what I can really do..._" He grinned as Letty neared the center, and he neared the goal. 

"GURBLE!" Graav's yelp was muffled by the water. Letty had just thrown a wither pass right through him and straight to Jassu, who had no defenders around him. Staying still a moment, he attracted a few, then threw over all their heads to Tidus, swimming up behind him. "_Here goes..._" Even through there were no defenders around him thanks to Wakka's planned out play, Tidus decided to make the first goal a stylish one. He tossed the ball up, then spiked it off the goal keep's head, then kicked it off of the goalpost sending the trajectory high up in the water above him. 

Back in the stands, Yuna held her breath. "He's gonna do it... the Magnificent Jecht Shot Mark III!" 

Rikku was amazed. "Wow, you can recognize that from here?!"

Lulu laughed a bit. "Now if Wakka could ever do one of those... I'd certainly be impressed."

All the girls' eyes watched as Tidus' body began to spin faster and faster; ascending to catch up with the rapidly approaching blitzball. His eyes locked on, he did a final spin for momentum, and his right leg whipped out to send the ball flying towards the goal. Since the goalie was a bit dazed from the last strike to his head, his attempt to stop Tidus' shot wasn't even close; the ball sped in to the goal; stretching the net as far as it could go. Aurochs 1, Goers, 0. Now it was Goers' possession, though the moment they got up to the goal, a well placed Nap Shot from Botta put their shooter out of commission. 

The Aurochs' point early in the first half had the Goers working extra hard on defense for the next three minutes. A lot of the Goers teamed up on Tidus, now that they saw him as a threat. Tidus grinned as he swam, seeing the strongest defenders on their team assigned to him. "_Heh. NOW I got their respect... but this sure isn't a one man show..._" With all the defenders on Tidus, the rest of the Aurochs had gone into a center attack formation, with the ball getting passed up to Wakka in the lead. Just against Abus, the goalie, Wakka shot it in from right in front of the goal lines. Aurochs 2, Goers 0. 

Right as Bickson received the ball on Goers' possession after the blitz off, the buzzer rang for Halftime.

********

"Wow you guys! You're AWESOME!" Rikku bounded into the Aurochs' locker room, followed by Lulu and Yuna. 

Wakka rubbed the back of his head. "Hehe. We try. But if weren't for Tidus here...ya? It wouldn't be so easy!"

"Aww Wakka... cut it out!" Tidus answered, embarrassed. Yuna and Rikku giggled a bit at his reaction, since of course they were expecting something along the lines of "Of course! I'm the star of the Zanarkand Abes!" Tidus could see it in their faces. And of course, Yuna was always easy to read. 

"_I guess I've changed... from then. I guess I've grown, just a bit. Two years can do that to you, even if they pass literally in an instant._" 

Out of the corner of his eye Tidus saw a nameplate on one of the lockers he hadn't noticed from before. "Yu...Yuna?!"

"What is it?" Yuna peeked her head around several Aurochs to see him.

"Come on over here, I wanna ask you something." 

"Ok. hold on." She walked over to where she was, passing through Wakka, Jassu, and Datto on the way. 

Tidus ran his fingers over her name on the locker. "So... you play?"

Yuna looked to where his fingers were. "Oh... that? I just have my stuff here for practice here once in while, you know? To be in a real sphere pool feels really different from at the beach! Wakka was trying to get me used to the feeling so he got a locker for me..."

While she was talking, Tidus got an idea, and grinned at Yuna, though this one looked a bit unusual. 

"Uh... Tidus?" Yuna got a little nervous under his gaze. 

He leaned in closer to whisper to her. "What would you say if...

"...No! I can't even hold my breath for that long!"

"... I'll tell you how! Come on!"

"..."

"Pleeeease? We'll all help you out!"

"... that means I have to change, right?" she blushed. 

"O-oh yeah. Hold on." 

Tidus looked up to see Wakka focused in on their conversation. "I was going to tell you the plays we have set up for the next half, but this sure seems a lot more interestin'..." He looked back and forth between the two, not knowing who was going to spill the beans first. 

Tidus looked at Yuna for a second for a final approval of sorts, then turned to Wakka. "What do you think about subbing in Yuna for the next half of the game?"

Wakka grinned. "Weell, little Yuna's got to get out there some time and we've got a good lead so...LET'S DO IT!"

The Aurochs all gasped in surprise, except Botta.

"Am I on the bench?"

"No! I'm on the bench, man!" Wakka said, jokingly. He patted Yuna on the head playfully. "Make me proud, ya?"

Yuna giggled nervously, feeling a familiar flush come to her cheeks. Next to her, Tidus was all smiles.

"_For Yuna, this is nothing. If she can beat Sin and save Spira, this game'll be a piece of cake! And besides... she's really cute when she gets embarrassed..._" He thought, glancing at her once more.

***************

"Alright Jimma! This is it! The deciding half of the game!"

"And here come the teams Bobba! The Goers look determined to win!"

"Wait Jimma, is that who I think it is on the Aurochs?!"

"....it can't be!"

"_G-Grand Maestress Yuna_ is on the starting lineup for this half, folks! We're in for a real treat today!"

"Uh huh... you said it Bobba."

Tidus was in awe of the crowd's reaction to Yuna's presence in the sphere pool, as were the surprised Goers. Yuna would've been too, but she was currently waving frantically at Tidus and alternately pointing to her puffed out cheeks. 

"_Oops. Time limit on the air! I almost forgot!_" He waved at her to show he understood, and got the rest of the Aurochs into position for the Blitz off, forcing the Goers to get into formation as well. 

Yuna, now the middle forward, put her knee down on the platform, ready to jump against Bickson for the ball. A few seconds counted down to the toss, and more time lost from her precious air supply.

The buzzer sounded, activating her quick reflexes.

**Blitz Off!** Yuna shot up to the ball, so fast that Bickson had barely leapt from starting position when Yuna passed the ball immediately to Datto to her right. Yuna smiled smugly at his expression for an instant before swimming off to her position for the upcoming play.

Tidus knew she had the speed, ever since she broke his fall on the S.S. Winno back then. "_She must have been working really hard this whole time to get *this* good!_"

Yuna swam straight down the center of the playing field, with the Goers distracted by Datto swimming with the ball to the extreme right of the pool. After a short encounter, Datto got through the defense with a Nap Pass, knocking out Balgerda in the process. He aimed the ball high above the sphere pool, in the air above. 

Yuna propelled herself up and out of the sphere pool to catch it; grabbing a quick breath before she was submerged in the water once again. Her time limit had been reset. The Goer defense was quickly catching up to her position, and since no one was around Tidus over to the left of the goal, she wound up and threw it to him before she got caught up in the big mess.

Tidus caught it, and immediately readied himself for a Sphere Shot, bouncing the ball on top of his head, and then slamming into the goal with a vicious bicycle kick. Aurochs up one more, 3-0.

The crowd cheered wildly. Even the Goers' fans couldn't help cheering for Spira's Grand Maestress. 

The teams got back into formation for Blitz Off for the change in possession, with Yuna smiling all the way there. 

************

Up in the stands, Rikku, Wakka, Lulu, and Kimahri were watching the game with much interest. 

"See, I told you she'd be ok!" Wakka said, putting his hand on one of Lulu's shoulders.

Lulu laughed a little. "Yeah, guess I was wrong about her."

"Hey Wakka, I could probably play blitzball too, huh?" Rikku grinned at him extra big.

Wakka rubbed his scruffy chin. "Hmm... maaaaybe. I'll think about it. But it'll take a lot of work, ya?!"

Rikku nodded. "Ok, ok, I got it. But Yunie's just so cool out there that I want to try it!"

"Kimahri never like water. Can't swim." 

All three of them looked at Kimahri strangely, since he hadn't said a word the whole time until now. Lulu opened her mouth to say something back, but Kimahri just crossed his arms and looked intently back at the game, obviously not wanting to take the subject any further. 

Rikku and Wakka edged in closer toward Lulu, who was in between them. "Scary..." she whispered. Wakka nodded in agreement.

Lulu shook her head. "I still don't get how Yuna understands him so well."

************ 

Back in the sphere pool, it was the Goers' possession, with a little under three minutes left in the half. Graav had just gotten a successful pass, after a nap shot had gone straight through Botta. The Aurochs were down one defender, so some defensive formations were in order. As Graav sped down the middle of the sphere pool, all of the Aurochs ganged up on him using a center attack. Graav managed to get through most of the defense, leaving him pitted against Yuna and Tidus. Tidus, with the higher attack, tackled him first, though it wasn't enough to get him to fumble the ball. Seeing this, Yuna tensed up, and executed a poison tackle on him, upping her attack, and allowing her to take possession of the ball. Now she had the ball, but all the physical exertion to get it took a toll on her air supply. Time was running out for her, so she motioned to Tidus in order to make the play they had talked about earlier. 

_"If you ever feel like you're about to run out of air, just call me..."_

Tidus swam alongside her, so she could hand him the ball easily. 

_"I'll make sure you get a breath of fresh air."_

Tidus swam off diagonally, and Yuna started to ascend in the sphere pool, her legs kicking up a trail of bubbles in her wake. She swam as fast as she could, breaking the surface of the water and flying up so high, she caught a glance of the crowds, before catching sight of a spinning blitzball coming into her field of vision. 

_"I promise." _

Tidus, his work done, just sat back and watched Yuna, _his_ Yuna, arch backwards in order to do a sphere kick, not unlike those he had done back in Zanarkand. Actually, that's where he got the idea for solving her little "breathing under water" problem. He grinned. "_It's a wonder how she can make almost *anything* graceful..._"

Yuna's foot connected with the ball cleanly, sending it through the air, into the water, and right past Abus, who couldn't see where the ball was coming from the distorted view underwater. Goal! Yuna fell, back first into the water, with Tidus there to catch her. She settled gently in his arms, finally relaxing for the first time in the game. She smiled up at him, and he smiled back.

Score up for Aurochs, and the game ended in the 10 seconds that followed. The buzzer rang, signaling the end of the game. The crowds were cheering wildly in the stands. 

"Wow Jimma! A total shut-out by the Aurochs! The Goers must be crushed!"

"Looks like the Aurochs have been working really hard for this season, Bobba."

"Yeah, that with the Grand Maestress and the Legendary Guardian are on their team, they'll be a tough team to beat!"

"This is going to be an exciting season..."

"Yup, you said it."

*************

Down at the Aurochs' locker room, and on the whole way back to Besaid, everyone congratulated Yuna and Tidus on the game just played. After a while, the whole giving autographs thing and talking to fans came to the point of being exhausting. It was a thing that both of them had gotten used to, to a point. Especially after a blitzball game, being bombarded by so many people wasn't exactly the most pleasant of things. 

After finally reaching Besaid and back to the hut, the two of them walked sluggishly and plopped down together on the couch in unison, both with the same expression on their faces. The rest of the group went off in different directions; Wakka and Lulu to the crusader's lodge, Rikku to the Al Bhed ship, and Kimahri to who knows where. 

"Wow. I'm tired..." Tidus said, grinning. "Though it's a little of a thrill too."

"Mhmm..." Yuna closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder. 

"You did good today. I'm really proud of you." 

"Thanks," she giggled. "It was all because of your idea, you know."

"I was actually thinking of a different plan, but I don't think you would've liked it...."

"Really? How come?" Yuna opened her eyes and looked up at him, curious. 

Tidus moved closer to her. "Just because..." his mischievous eyes locked with hers for a second, before catching her lips up in a short kiss, and at the same time, pushing a bit of air into her lungs. When the kiss ended, he looked at Yuna for her response. 

"What do you mean I wouldn't like it? I...kinda did though..." Yuna blushed, and she attempted to hide it by looking down. "I-If you got your idea from Zanarkand, where did you get this idea from?"

Tidus sat up. "Did you ever wonder how you stayed underwater so long back when we were in Macalania?" 

Yuna thought for a little. "So that's how... hmm. I really lost track of time then anyway..." she said, her blush returning. 

Just then, Lulu came into the room, Chappu in her arms. She looked at the two on the couch. " I get tired just looking at you," she joked. 

Yuna turned in her position to face her. "Oh, hi Lulu!" she smiled cutely. 

"My, you're in a good mood today... feel like going to a party?"

Tidus and Yuna answered at the same time. "Party?"

"I went to pick up Chappu from the babysitter, and I heard they're throwing a celebration party for the first win of the season. I promise it won't be too hectic, Wakka and I will be there to help you out if you need us."

Yuna spoke up first. "I guess... a party sounds kind of fun."

"Wait, what about you, Lulu? Won't that be a burden for you?" Tidus asked.

"No, I've been doing this for Yuna for years already. Besides, would you rather have Wakka cook something to eat?" 

"Ehh... probably not." Tidus said, a sour expression on his face. 

"You two can probably come as you are, it's a pretty informal thing." Lulu adjusted her hold on Chappu, and turned to walk back out of the hut. "Just meet us out in front of the temple, ok?" She smiled, waving to someone as she walked outside. 

Tidus stood up and stretched, and Yuna followed suit. "I'm glad she said it was an informal thing," Tidus said while yawning. 

"Why's that? So you wouldn't have to wear Chappu's clothes again?" 

"No, it's not that, I just like how you look in your blitzball uniform is all," he grinned and blushed, embarrassed. 

Yuna smiled and took his hand. "Thanks..." she tiptoed to kiss him on the lips. "Let's get going to the party, shall we?"

The walked hand in hand out of the hut, and off to the celebration. On they way there, Tidus thought about all the things that had happened in the short time he had been back. It boggled his mind, how Yuna had kept her feelings for him this whole time he had been gone. He was glad for it; that she hadn't forgotten about him. But if he was to be put in the same position, he was sure that he'd probably act the same way. 

"Hey Yuna."

"Yeah, Tidus?"

"I love you." 

Yuna smiled inwardly before answering,

"...I love you too."

*******************

Author's Notes:

Whew! I finally got this chapter finished! (Imagine, this whole thing started out in... September?!) It's just that school has been totally been eating up ALL my free time this whole quarter. Argh. Well, no guarantees on when the next chapter is coming out, though having all this vacation coming up is going to help it. Oh yeah, sorry. But I think the next chapter is going to be the last. Though, I do have an idea for a new FFX story that actually has a plot! Look forward to it... sometime. :-)

Oh, about the content of the chapter? Sorry if there's too much blitzball for you, but I thought it would be cool to see Yuna in action for once. "Yuna in action..." contradiction for FFX, not so for FFX-2. Waaah. Makes me want the game even more. Oh yeah, randomness. Up at the top, "Eiga no renshuu," is literally, "smiling practice." It's what Yuna tells Tidus to do _before_ they start laughing all weird. 

And hey, notice the date? (11/23) it's my birthday! That makes me...twenty! Geez. It's so weird not being a teenager anymore when you've been one for so long. ;-) So here ya go. It's all backwards! A present from me to you. 

Wait, I know! Perfect B-day gift! Leave a review! Now those make me pretty darn happy. :-)


	11. Uncertain Tomorrows

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X or any of it's characters! Just think: It's been a whole _year _(and then some) since the game came out! Isn't that freaky?

Character thoughts are in "_italics._" Kore wa omae no monogatari da.

Oh yeah, and **Happy New Year**! *blows a party favor*

****************

_When I close my eyes, _

_that's when the uncertainty comes._

_But the future is bright,_

_for you will surely be there. _

_*****************_

Final Fantasy X: Beginnings

Chapter Eleven: Uncertain Tomorrows

****************

Yuna woke with a start, her surroundings unfamiliar for a brief moment. She willed her eyes shut again, she knew from the darkness outside that the sun hadn't risen yet. Wrapping herself in her sheets, she attempted to go back to sleep, though she knew it probably wouldn't work. 

She hadn't been sleeping well for the past week or so, because dreams... rather, nightmares of the assassination attempt at Luca plagued her mind. The only reason she could think of was that she had been working very much with the issue of the rebuilding of Zanarkand; the subject of her speech that day. Actually, there had been some progress with the whole thing since she first proposed it. There was a great backing in Spira, and with the help of Al Bhed machina, project Zanarkand was born. 

She could feel a headache starting to form, signaled by a slight pounding at her temples. "_I guess I was just too shocked to really think about it when it happened, I just pushed it out of my mind then, and it hasn't even been that long..._" She grimaced, trying to stop the headache's onset by attempting to massage it away. " _It's true that taking down Tromell was a bit too easy, and not all of the Guado were for Seymour, though it could be a possibility..._" She sighed. "_Or perhaps it has more to do with New Yevon? They're always pestering me to join their group, and I don't know why..._"

She shook her head, trying to get all the thoughts out of her mind. Too bad it also exacerbated her small headache. "_Ow... too much to think about! I might as well get up... can't sleep anyway..._" Groggily, she turned her head to the side to glance at the clock on her nightstand. "_Hopefully it's not too early this time..._"

Problem was, there was a fluffy head of blonde hair right in her line of vision. 

Yuna's eyes went wide, and she had to stifle her sharp intake of breath. "_W-what's he doing here? Not that I don't want him here... but Wakka's going to give me a lecture if he finds out..!_" She took a deep breath, pausing for a moment before settling back into her sheets. "_Ok...calm down...you **want** him here, remember? Who cares what Wakka says? It's not like I have to go anywhere right away..._" She hesitantly scooted closer to Tidus, not wanting to wake him, and gently wrapped her arms around him, enjoying his warmth. She nuzzled her head in the crook of his neck, tempted to go back to sleep. 

She felt some movement under her arms, and in an instant, she was face to face with him. She laughed at him, just a little, since Tidus' bedhead was pretty funny looking with little blond hairs going every which way. "Good morning..." she said, in between her giggles.

"'Mornin'. And yeah, I know my head looks like a bird's nest, so laugh all you want," he said jokingly.

"Sorry, did I wake you up? I didn't mean to."

"It's ok, I'm not complaining. Especially if I get to wake up like this," He smiled, passing a hand through his mess of hair. 

Yuna blushed a bit, hoping that that morning darkness hid her expression. "I was wondering... what are you doing here anyway?" Thinking it sounded too direct, she diverted her gaze. "Not that I mind..."

"Well, you seemed to be having some trouble sleeping last night, so I thought that maybe I could help, y'know?"

"Why did you think that?" 

"For one thing, it helps that you were kinda saying my name in your sleep, not that I mind that either," he said, his distinctive grin returning.

Yuna instantly turned serious. The reason she had been saying his name in her sleep was only because she was calling out for him not to die back at Luca. She cast her eyes downward. "That's because...because..."

"Shhh..." Tidus wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Sorry, I was just trying to cheer you up. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. Though you did fall right asleep once I came in here, so that made me happy." He smiled down at her. "Too bad you wriggled away and had that nasty dream again, huh?"

"Hmm... so that explains it." She smiled, her headache was going away already. She looked over him to glance at the time, disturbing the sheets in the process, and finding that it really wasn't as early as she thought. She plopped back down on the bed. She made a face at him. "Heeey... does Lulu or Wakka know you're in here?" 

He laughed a bit before saying, "Funny story actually, me and Lulu were going for a midnight snack at the same time and she sent me over here herself! Good thing she did, right?"

Yuna giggled. That Lulu. Always looking out for her. "I'll have to thank her later." 

"Mhmm... so what's the deal? Wanna get up? Or ...sleep in?" He grinned mischievously, and his voice took on a deeper tone. 

Yuna swiftly grabbed the pillow from under her head and smacked him with it. 

"Hey!" Tidus sat up to try and fend off any following blows. He got caught totally off guard, and his face showed it. 

"Silly...I'm getting up now," she said playfully, pausing to kiss him briefly on the lips. "But... thanks. For everything."

His hand came up to push a stray hair of her face. "No problem. That's what guardians are for."

************** 

After slowly getting out of bed, Yuna made her way to the bathroom in order to take a morning shower. "_Hey, if I have to wake up early, at least I could be clean about it..._" Closing the door behind her, she took off her pj's, throwing them into the hamper with familiar accuracy, and grabbing a towel from the rack while she was at it. Pulling aside the shower curtain, she started the water running, and got in once the water got warm. 

Elsewhere in the house, Tidus ran into Lulu once again, this time on a morning breakfast run. 

Lulu laughed. "Seems we both get hungry at the same time." She held a toasted bagel and a glass of orange juice in her hands. 

Tidus rubbed the back of his neck and grinned. "Heh. Guess so." He had a plate of pancakes ready to go. 

Lulu started spreading the cream cheese on her bagel. "So, did she sleep better last night?"

Tidus grabbed the bottle of syrup and started pouring. " Yeah. Guess you could say that." He paused. "But the way she was acting this morning when I brought up her dream had me a little worried..."

Lulu looked up from her work for a moment. "Hopefully it will pass, she'll talk to us about it when she feels the time is right. That's just how she is."

"Yeah. She's a total open book," he said, chuckling a bit. 

"Oh wait, I just remembered something," Lulu said suddenly. "I'll be right back." She walked away for a moment, making her way to her and Wakka's room, and coming back with a small stack of neatly folded clothes. 

"Huh? What's that?" Tidus asked, curious. 

"Yuna has an open forum today in the temple, and for once I'd like to see her dress down for once. She isn't a summoner anymore, so she shouldn't have to dress up like one. Besides, I just got finished with the clothes anyway." 

"Ah, gotcha. But what do I have to do with all of this?" 

"Just go and give these to her so she can wear them when she's done in the shower. I've got to get the preparations for the temple ready and get Chappu up too, so I appreciate the help. Oh, and tell her she's got extra time, since the forum will start late today."

It sounded easy enough. "Ok, will do." He stuffed a forkful of syrupy pancakes into his mouth shortly afterward.

Lulu smiled to herself, and busied herself with another bagel for Wakka. "_Well, I figured he'd want to do that errand anyway._"

*************

Yuna was still in the shower, just about to finish up. The warm water felt good, since it relaxed her tense muscles. "_Who knew you could get sore from dreaming? Or maybe it's because I haven't been doing as much blitzball lately with all the Zanarkand stuff going on, I really should get back into that..._"

Just then, she heard a soft knocking at the bathroom door.

Outside, Tidus was holding Yuna's change of clothes. "Hey Yuna! I've got some clothes for you from Lulu! And... take your time, the forum starts late today!"

"What?!" She shouted. Yuna couldn't really understand the muffled voice through the door due to the sound of running water filling her ears. 

"I'll just leave the clothes here, ok? I'm coming in for just a little bit, so don't get out!" Tidus shouted. 

"WHAT?" Still unable to hear him well, Yuna decided to just see what all the ruckus was about. "Just a moment, I'll be over there in a minute!" Yuna opened the curtain, and was about to grab her towel to check on the door, when she saw Tidus coming in with a pile of clothes. 

She froze. 

He froze.

The sound of shower running was the only sound in the little room for a brief moment. 

Coming to her senses, Yuna quickly grabbed the towel from the rack and wrapped it around herself, her hair still dripping wet, and water getting everywhere. "Um... I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you too well..."

Tidus looked away, though his beet red blush was very apparent. "Uh... I'm sorry too, for barging in like that, I didn't mean to..."

Yuna felt very awkward, and very, very embarrassed. "So...uh... what was it you wanted to tell me?" 

Tidus hesitantly looked back toward her general direction now that she had a towel on ...even if it still didn't do much to hide her figure. He offered the clothes he had in his hands. "These are from Lulu, and she just wanted me to tell you that you've got extra time since the forum starts late today."

Yuna thought back to the muffled stuff she had heard through the door just a second ago. "So that's what you were saying..."

Tidus looked down, and laughed nervously. "Yeah."

Yuna giggled, thinking of the whole situation. Trying to get rid of the tension, she joked, "So, did you like what you saw?" Her voice took on a tone very unlike her. 

"W-wh-WHAT?!" Tidus' blush got even redder and he started scooting back toward the door. "Um... y-yeah...wait! I mean..." 

Yuna giggled at his reaction and grabbed an extra towel so she could dry off her hair. "Ok you, I'm going to get some clothes on, though to you it really doesn't make much of a difference anymore..."

Tidus, realizing what Yuna was trying to do, finally relaxed and did the best pouting expression he could. "Does to."

They both laughed a lot after that, mostly at themselves.

Yuna, still smiling, changed her tone of voice. "But really, I meant it. Get out, I have to change!"

Tidus stepped out, only to see a door close right in front of his face. 

On both sides of the door, both were thinking the same thing. 

"_Well, that was interesting._"

***************

A few minutes later, Yuna came out, wearing a pair of khaki capris and a light blue blouse with laces at the neck and the sleeves. Spotting Lulu sitting on the couch, she made her way towards her. 

"Hi Lulu," Yuna said, taking a seat next to her. 

Lulu had Chappu in her arms, and held a bottle to his hungry mouth. "Yuna... so you like it?" She said, referring to the outfit. 

"This? Yeah. I does feel nice to get out of summoner's clothes, even if just for a little bit."

"Mhmm... so I heard you slept well last night also," she said, busying herself with Chappu once more. 

"Yeah... and apparently I have you to thank for that," Yuna said, letting herself fall back into the comfy sofa. 

"You're welcome." She added, "And I'm guessing you got the message from Tidus then?" 

Yuna blushed a bit when she thought of what had just happened back at the bathroom. "Mhmm..."

Lulu, knowing Yuna like no one else, saw her slight change in tone and expression. "Say, Yuna. Did something happen...?"

Yuna opened her mouth to tell her, but right then Tidus came out from his shower, dressed casually, and his hair still wet, much like Yuna's. 

Lulu gasped. "Don't tell me you two..."

Yuna instantly sat up from her position on the couch, and Tidus started making hand gestures like crazy. 

"No, it's not what you think!" 

"Nothing happened, I swear!"

Wakka chose this moment to come into the living room, a schedule book open in his hands. "Something happened between you two?" His face showed an unusual expression as he surveyed the current situation. 

Both Yuna and Tidus buried their hands in their faces, and let out big sighs in unison. 

Wakka shook his head. "Ok, I won't ask...for now," he said giving a look to both of them. "But the forum starts in about fifteen minutes, so we better get goin' down to the temple, ya?"

Yuna got up slowly and stretched out her arms. If things like this continued to happen in her daily life, she could probably get used to it. Something like this was much better than the days she had stayed depressed in bed for almost half the day; that was right after the time they had defeated Sin. It wasn't just Tidus that made her able to smile again, it was everyone. And she was thankful for that.

"Ok then, let's go!" She said cheerfully, walking out the door, a bounce in her step. 

Wakka turned to Tidus. "Hey, brudda. You sure nothin' happened?"

"Yeah yeah, I'm sure, ok?!"

****************

Yuna stepped out to find Rikku sitting on the ground and tinkering with something by the side of one of the huts, with a pile of machina all around her. Seeing as no one had followed her out yet, she stopped to see what she was up to. "Hey, what are you working on this time?" 

Rikku looked up upon hearing Yuna's voice. "Oh, hey Yunie! Just trying to work with this Dark Matter I've got here. Hopefully I can increase the power output of this machina so it'll become more useful. Exciting, huh?" Her voice bubbled with enthusiasm. 

"Mhmm..." Yuna didn't understand much about Rikku's customizing techniques, but she was learning more about them day by day. "Oh yeah, by the way, you're still working those machina guns you found by Zanarkand, right?"

"Yup! Just give me a few days and those fiends will be biting the dust in no time!"

"Yeah, I remember Mom loving those machina guns with a passion," Yuna said, nostalgic. 

"She was one of the best sharpshooters around, y'know?" Rikku said, smiling. "Maybe you've inherited some of her skill, you think?"

Yuna pondered the thought. "Hmm. I'll never know till I try..."

Seeing Wakka, Lulu, and Tidus finally exiting the hut, Yuna quickly said good-bye to her cousin. "Sorry, I've got to go. I'll see you after the forum, ok?"

"Ok, I'll probably still be here anyway," Rikku said grinning. She slid her green goggles over her eyes as she prepped to use the flame torch on her current project. 

By that point, the rest of the group had caught up to her, and they all went off to the nearby temple with time to spare.

****************

The temple in Besaid had been turned into a temporary conference hall for Yuna's open forum, with chairs set out in a circular fashion following the circular design at the center. With this design, Yuna wouldn't feel too nervous, and the people wouldn't be too nervous to ask her questions. Yuna took a seat next to Kimahri, who had arrived early to 'greet' early comers. 

Tidus took a seat next to Yuna, as Wakka and Lulu stayed at the doors to welcome the people coming in. He turned to Yuna and leaned in towards her to whisper in her ear. "So... what's this you're about to do here again?" 

"It's an open forum that happens every month. Anyone in Spira can come and discuss issues they'd like to see work on, comment on things, and other general things like that," she replied, her voice as soft as his. 

He sat back in his chair. "Ah, gotcha. Sounds pretty cool of you to do this."

Yuna smiled at him. "I guess you could say that."

The chairs around them had filled up considerably in the few minutes they had been here. She looked up too see some familiar faces from the village, and some others she almost recognized, not being able to quite place where she had seen them before. They were together with Yeivel though, so she assumed they must come from New Yevon. "_And I was just thinking about them... how strange. Yeivel always comes to the forums, but he's never brought others with him before..._"

Yuna could tell the others (besides Tidus) shared her train of thought. Wakka looked especially tense on his way over to sit down with Lulu, taking the two seats next to Kimahri. 

Yeivel, sensing the growing tension, spoke up. "Uh... Lady Yuna! You look well."

"Thank you, as do you."

"I-it is really good to see you m'lady..." he said nervously. "Umm... we're just sitting in here, so please, don't mind us."

Yuna cast a wary look over them. "_They're going to try and get me to join their group like they always do, it's just that this time, Yeivel's got a lot more backup._" Glancing at her machina watch, she decided that it was time to begin. She spoke up from her chair. 

"Hello everyone, and welcome to this month's forum. I hope you all have been doing well, and I hope that I can continue to do good work for all of Spira. Now, the floor is open to any topic you wish to discuss." 

An old man sitting next to Tidus spoke up. "Lady Yuna, I just want to tell you you've done a great job managing the peace in Spira, and life here in Besaid has never been better. Why, Lord Braska would be proud of you." He smiled a toothy grin, with many of his teeth missing.

Yuna took the compliment gracefully. "Thank you sir, I do try my best."

A young woman in a Crusader's outfit spoke up next. "Lady Yuna, with the rebuilding of Zanarkand, what are you planning to do? We have been surviving for years without the machina city. What good will it bring?"

"_Well, besides personal reasons..._" Yuna glanced at Tidus next to her for a brief moment. "The rebuilding of Zanarkand is a great endeavor, I know, but I believe that it will do only good for Spira. We don't need a reminder of Sin's past destruction, so we don't need to leave it in ruins. I also believe that it will make a good home for the Al Bhed, who haven't had a real home for a long time." Motioning with her hands, she continued. "And with the rebuilding the blitzball stadium there will ensure more games that can be played and watched, as opposed to having just one blitzball stadium in Luca."

"I see. You raise good points m'lady. Do you know approximately when the project will be finished?" 

"No, unfortunately, I do not. The Al Bhed technology is evolving day by day though, so I see it being finished within a few years time. Of course, certain areas will be completed before others; like the blitzball stadium, which I see happening within the next year."

Everyone in the circle was fixed on Yuna, as she spoke of the things to come. At first, the rebuilding of Zanarkand was considered taboo due to Yevonites, but now that the Eternal Calm had come, anything was possible. She glanced briefly at Yeivel and his group. "_Anything is possible... like if those New Yevonites really *are* just sitting in on today's forum and won't say anything about me joining them..._"

Yuna was right... for most of the forum anyway. All of her guardians became visibly relaxed about the whole situation as Yuna took more questions from the people and answered them with her usual grace. After taking a question from a warrior monk from Bevelle, Yuna glanced down at her left wrist to see that it was just about time to end the forum. She stood up slowly, and was about to declare it over, but...

A man stood up suddenly within the circular chairs. "Lady Yuna! One more issue!" It was one of the New Yevonites Yeivel had brought along. Dressed in elaborate robes, reminiscent of those Yuna had seen in her wedding with Seymour, he stood out among the people in the once holy temple. His booming voice gave her an uneasy feeling. 

"Yes?" She knew what was coming. She was hoping she would be able to avoid it, at least for one month...

Tidus was about to stand up to defend her, but Yuna put her hand on his shoulder, keeping him down. Wakka, Lulu, and Kimahri all had expressions on their faces that screamed *I knew it!*. 

"Lady Yuna, we wish you to join our group. Please. We need a leader for our new religion."

Yuna shook her head. "I decline. Haven't you taken the hint with all of the rejections you've gotten from me?" Her voice let on a bit of her annoyance.

"Yes, but we hope that our persistence pays off one day." 

Yeivel interjected. "But we'd still like you to join us of your free will, you know that."

The other New Yevonites there rallied behind their leader's comments.

"You know... you used to serve Yevon. It doesn't matter if he is gone, or if the religion was fake, we strive to make something better than what we had before."

"Spira needs an organized religion to unify it's people, and with your support, we can make that happen."

Before another New Yevonite could speak, Yuna retorted, her annoyance growing. "Do not talk to me about unity, sir. Spira is already united through the people's strength and desire to rebuild their world. Has nothing about the defeat of Sin ever occur to you? Also, it shouldn't even matter whether or not I join you! People should choose to participate in your religion of their own free will, just like you say it is my free will that decides if I join you. I decline. And I do not want anyone asking me to join from today onward. Understand?"

Yuna's anger was a silent one, and was a side she rarely (if ever) showed. The Yevonites seemed to get the point, and promptly became silent. It really wasn't in their best interest to get on the bad side of Spira's Grand Maestress. Well, they were already at that point, but it really wouldn't be smart to push her any further.

Yuna let out a big sigh. "Well, that's it for today's forum, everyone. I thank you for coming, and we'll have another open forum in a month."

Everyone stood up, and began exiting the temple, mumbling about the New Yevonite outburst at the end. 

Lulu came up to Yuna once all of the people had dispersed, and patted her on the head. "You did well. Now what do you say to going home, and I'll fix everyone something to eat?"

"Sounds good..." Yuna said happily. 

On the way out of the temple, Tidus tried to cheer Yuna up. "If it'll make you feel better, I'll let you walk in on my shower tomorrow..." he whispered in her ear jokingly. 

Yuna smirked. "I don't know Tidus, maybe I'll take you up on that," she laughed, unable to keep up her serious tone. She could hear Tidus gulp.

"You really mean that?"

"No silly, I'd only do that if you asked me to... wait. You just did!" She started giggling. 

"Yuna... are you serious?" Tidus had a bewildered look on his face.

"What are you two kids talking about back there?" Wakka said. They had already arrived at the entrance to their hut. 

"Nothing..." Yuna said innocently. Tidus nodded, agreeing with her comment. 

Wakka raised an eyebrow. "You two are weird, ya?!" He brushed aside the curtain, and stepped inside. Lulu followed him in, and headed toward the kitchen. 

Yuna, seeing Rikku sitting where she saw her last, walked over to her, Tidus in tow. "Hey there, how's it going?"

Rikku looked up and slid her green goggles down from her eyes and around her neck. "Oh, hi Yunie! I should be asking you the same thing, you look beat." 

"Those forums do look tiring, especially having to deal with New Yevon and stuff too... she's really something, huh?" Tidus said, referring to the girl standing next to him. "I swear. All these politics make my head hurt." He grinned bashfully.

"Yeah, that Yunie. She always works too hard," she said, agreeing with him. "Oooh. Tidus, on the topic of New Yevon, I have something I want you guys to see. I'll be right back, ok?" Rikku got up, dusted off her shorts, and walked around to the back of the hut where more of her machina projects were kept. 

She came back with the machina she had been working before the forum. "There's something up with this Dark Matter here... it's really weird." Rikku turned around to look for her blowtorch, but decided against it. "Let's see if Lulu's lessons have been paying off!" Her hand crackled with energy, and a bright flame shot through the Dark Matter for a brief moment. 

The unusual thing was that for this brief moment, the jet black blob turned into a spider-like blob very reminiscent of Yu Yevon. 

Yuna gasped. "_Maybe my hunch about New Yevon wasn't a fluke..._" 

Tidus spoke up. "Rikku, isn't that what you stole from Tromell when you knocked him out?"

"Yup. Seems like it. Looks like the Guado back there had some connections to Yevon somehow, it's really confusing!" She said, resting her now free hand on her hip. Seeing Yuna's worried expression, Rikku tried to console her. "You know, it could be a coincidence, it *has* only been two years since he was defeated, so don't get too worried, ok?"

Yuna nodded. "I'll try. But we should look further into it, just in case."

"Yuuuuna! Tiiiidussss! Riiikkuuuuuu! The food's ready, YAAAA???!!!!" 

All three of them laughed. There was no mistaking Wakka's way of saying things. Forgetting the problem at hand for a bit, they headed back to the hut to relax. 

**************

After enjoying the afternoon snack, Yuna went back into her room to get her notebook. She didn't want to forget the issues people brought up in the forum, though she did want to forget the fact that New Yevon apparently crashed the whole thing. She grabbed a pen along with the worn looking pad of paper off her desk, walked over to her bed, and started to jot down everything she could remember. 

"_Let's see... the issue of Zanarkand, the Blitzball admission tax, a compliment..._" Absorbed in her thoughts, she almost didn't notice the door crack open, and a certain blitzball player walk in, and quietly walk right up to her. She still concentrated her attention on jotting down her notes. " You know, life was a lot simpler just yesterday."

Tidus smiled and let out a sigh. He wasn't as stealthy as he thought he was, apparently. He took a seat next to Yuna on her already disheveled bed (it seemed she didn't make it this morning) and glanced over to see what she was doing. "You know Yuna, it's normal to freak out when things get a little unpredictable."

She looked up. "Hey... who said I was freaking out?" Yuna said, freaking out, just a bit. 

Tidus grinned, making Yuna realize her mistake. He patted her on the back playfully. "Take it easy!"

"..." Yuna said nothing as she looked up at him then back down at her work. "_What? Is he making fun of me now?_"

Yuna continued jotting down her notes and Tidus continued to sit there, giving her some time to think. 

"_A new predicament, a new problem to solve. It's a little unsettling to think about, though something inside me yearns for some adventure, and it's a little weird not having my life all planned out like it was before..._"

A few moments of silence passed between them before Tidus turned toward her. 

"Yuna? Can I ask you something?"

"..." Yuna said nothing and nodded, not really taking notice of him, the case being she was consciously trying to ignore him to aid her memory.

"I've been thinking about this a lot since I came back, and I know this might not be the right time, but Yuna... will you marry me? We could walk in on each others' showers all we want, and sleep in the same bed and..." He rambled on, nervous. Noticing that Yuna hadn't budged, he got even more nervous. "...Yuna?" He took her left hand in his own. "I..."

Yuna's eyes widened in realization, dropping her notebook on the floor in the process. "_Wait, did he just say what I think he said?_" She turned slowly toward him from her position on the bed. "Tidus? Did you... just propose to me?"

He nodded, and looking into his eyes, she could sense his anticipation for her answer.

She smiled up at him and kissed him on the lips. "Yes," She whispered breathlessly. "Yes."

"_Perhaps the fact that I don't know what tomorrow brings... is a good thing._"

*****************

Author's notes: 

Look! Look! It's the end! I know there are a lot of loose ends, but the thing is, I don't have any more creative energy left to think of a resolution! Yeah. Though, if I get enough cries of "MORE!" from reviews (hint, hint) I might consider an epilogue, or perhaps *GASP!* continuing it. Hopefully this chapter was super-sized enough for ya. :-)

The Japanese at the top? It's Auron's saying from the beginning of the game! "This is your story." Also, the intro italics come from the Jpop group Dream and their song, "Yourself." The walk-in shower scene came from one of my reviews on Fire Rules' "A Time for Reflection," (haha, told you I'd use it!) and the machina gun reference comes from (of course) FFX-2. 

People to thank! Yeah, YOU! First of all for reading this! I'm happy that you gave a fic like this a chance. Really, I was making this up as I went, so hopefully it turned out ok. It's a pleasure to write for all you (reviewing) people. :-) Extra kudos to everyone who's been with me from beginning to end! 

Th' Lady Shadow: Writer extraordinaire! Breaker of Writer's Blocks! It's SHAD! Seriously, without her, this update would've taken two months more to complete. Also, she's a great person just to chat with about random stuff! Go read her fics! *plugplug*

Fire Rules: I know I haven't talked much to ya lately, but I remember all of the reviews you've left me over the course of the story. Your handy dandy nitpicks always help me improve chapter to chapter, so thanks! I appreciate it! I don't get too busy there with... life. Yeah. I have that problem too. ;-)

Wings of Stars: Just because I've been reading your fics lately, I decided to work on this thing here again. I love your writing style! :-D 

That's it! Thanks for reading, and I'll be seeing ya around! I've got another fic in the works in my head, so look forward to it!

~Noelle

January 1, 2003


	12. The Beginning of Forever

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X or any of its characters! But then again, no ONE person does anyway, right? Haha, Squaresoft, you big conglomerate you. 

Character thoughts are in "italics." Mamoritai. Zutto. 

***************

_Wish I could prove I love you,_

_But does that mean I have to walk on water? _

_When we are older you'll understand_

_It's enough when I say so._

_And maybe some things are that simple..._

**************

Final Fantasy X: Beginnings

Chapter Twelve: The Beginning of Forever

**************

In the Farplane, one can't tell the season or time of day. It was a deep mystical unknown, a swirling mass of mists and pyreflies, and a sight to behold. At least, that's what's Tidus once thought, before he had been on the other side himself. Being in the Farplane is to _exist_... it didn't really matter that it was nighttime in Guadosalam or that he was supposed to be sleeping in Besaid; that was beside the point.

"...you said THAT?" Auron looked amused. 

"Heeh. Yeah. I think I was so nervous the words came out all weird like that. Just... just don't tell my old man EXACTLY what I said, ok? I'm a little embarrassed..." Tidus hung his head down. "Assertive my butt." He kicked a stray stone into the endless abyss of the Farplane.

"I'm thinking she took it well though?" 

He nodded. "She said yes... though she almost didn't notice what I said at first."

Auron chuckled, his thick collar muffling the sound a bit. "I _knew_ it would happen someday."

Tidus grinned. "I'm glad it is, and that's why I came here to talk to you about it," He shuffled his feet, looking down. "...and...to thank you."

Auron raised an eyebrow. "Thank me? For what?"

"For bringing me to Spira in the first place," he said to the floating image before him. 

Auron was a bit surprised, though regained composure quickly. "Hmph. It was nothing. If you want someone to thank, talk to your father." He smirked, knowing the suggestion wouldn't go over too well.

"My old man? Hah. He'd probably turn the whole thing around on me and call me a sissy or something for being all _polite_ like that!"

"Didn't think you thought so highly of me, boy," it was a familiar gruff voice, accompanied by the image of smirking Jecht. 

"_Shooooot... guess I thought about him too much while talking to Auron..._" It's not like he hated his father anymore, it's just that some of Jecht's old habits (like making fun of him unintentionally) die hard. 

Jecht opened his mouth, though nothing came out. Auron had put a hand on his shoulder, momentarily stopping his train of thought (if you could call it that).

"He proposed to her," Auron said in his deep voice. "So don't say anything stupid." Jecht made quite the interesting face upon hearing both comments, and they effectively kept him silent for a moment. 

Tidus breathed a sigh of relief. "_Now I don't have to tell him myself..._"

After calming down, Jecht faced Tidus. "You know boy, you've done well," he said, his voice taking on a serious tone. "I'm happy for the both of ya." 

Tidus smiled. "Thanks, Dad." 

Jecht flushed, embarrassed. He waved his hand at him. "Anyway, come back sometime with Yuna, ok? I'm sure Braska'll want to see her."

"Ok. Will do. But could you do me a favor and tell Mom? I kinda have to get back to Besaid before they notice I'm gone..."

"Sure, I'll do that for ya. She'd have a fit if she didn't know that her only son was getting MARRIED! Geez..." He grinned.

Tidus waved to the both of them. "I'll come back soon, and I'll bring everyone else next time too."

Auron smiled, though no one could really tell with his mouth covered up and all. "Yes, it would be nice to see everyone again..." He said, nostalgic. He put up his hand, waving back. "Take care."

Tidus turned to the gate leading back to Guadosalam, and Auron and Jecht went back to their home in the Farplane, dispersing into multicolored pyreflies as they did. 

***************

Guadosalam at night was unexpectedly lively, or perhaps it was because he rarely visited the place, that everything felt unfamiliar, _exciting_ even. He never saw the good in the place when Seymour was there. "_Actually, most of the dissenters in Guadosalam got caught and put into jail after Tromell's defeat, so there's not much use asking about New Yevon here... even if the issue has been bothering Yuna a lot lately. That bumbling old Tromell, he must have had a push from somewhere... maybe it was random chance, or maybe he had ties to Yevon from before Sin was defeated... who knows? Just like Seymour kept coming back again and again and again, maybe it's best if we take it one step at a time..." _he was interrupted midway in his thoughts by a female voice in front of him. He lifted his head up to get a better look. 

"Good evening Sir Tidus," a Guado woman said as she passed by, her friends quickly followed suit once they realized who she was addressing. 

Another girl bowed. "It is an honor Sir Tidus!"

"Congratulations on the blitzball game Sir Tidus!"

"Can I have your autograph?" One of the girls said innocently, giggling as she did so. 

"AUDA!"

"Sorry?" She looked apologetic for a moment, then turned to Tidus again. "But really, I'm your biggest fan! Teehee!"

Tidus was taken back by all of this, and had to reorient himself. He chuckled. "Alright, alright. What do you want signed? I've got to get going to Besaid, so sorry if I make it quick..." He really had to get going so he wouldn't have to explain himself to the others. It's not that he was afraid... it's just he felt bad that he didn't tell anyone about where he was going. "_Besides... only Yuna knows I can talk with people in the Farplane, and she went to sleep waaaay early too..._"

The girl had rummaged through her small backpack to find a worn looking blitzball glove, and a silver pen. "Thank you soooo much!" She bowed again, and offered both things to him. 

As he signed the glove, he thought of many things, like how Spira had felt more like home than Zanarkand did, how his life had changed so drastically, and how somehow, he relished in the feeling he was getting from entertaining his fans. "_It's something I missed I guess, though nowadays, I don't need the ego boost as much as I used to._" He finished up his signature, and handed the glove back to the girl. 

"Thank you Sir Tidus! Have a safe trip back to Besaid!"

He flashed a grin. "No problem, take care!" He waved back at them as he walked towards the Inn. Hopefully Maechen wasn't a night owl, and he wouldn't have to undergo another story about Spira's history before boarding on Cid's airship. 

Cid... now he was a very interesting man. It was still pretty funny how he'd shout off a long string of curses anytime anyone decided to pay him a surprise "visit."

***************

He touched down in Besaid at the beach. After thanking Cid, the airship flew off, and Tidus was left alone on the seashore. He started jogging back to the village, using his trademark leaps and bounds to cover more area in less time. The moist soil flew off his sneakers in the nighttime air.

"_Almost there..._" He could already see the entrance to the village from the hill he was jogging down. Unlike Guadosalam, there wasn't anybody out and about since well, there really wasn't anything to do a night. Except sew Besaid fabric... the people did enough of that already. Already down at the village, he could hear some Crusaders talking it up at the lodge, obviously drunk, and having a fabulous time. "_At least these Besaid huts are more soundproof than we think._" Tidus thought as he approached home, its uniquely multicolored curtain distinguished it from all of the other homes on the island. Well, that and its slightly larger size. 

Tidus pulled aside the curtain slowly, careful to not make any noise, then slipped his shoes off so a.) Lulu wouldn't have a fit, and b.) he could walk around more quietly. Passing by the couch that had been his bed for quite some time now, he picked up the pajamas he had changed out of. "_Hmm. Yeah. Can't sleep in this..._" he thought, referring to his blitzball outfit. On his way to the bathroom, he decided to make a small detour at Yuna's room. 

Opening the door, he saw her, very ungracefully tangled in her sheets, her deep rhythmic breathing telling him she was still asleep. Tidus grinned at the sight before him before closing the door softly behind him. "_Maybe when she's really tired, that's how she gets, she's gotta let up *sometime*..._"

Getting to the bathroom, he quickly changed, and softly padded back to the sofa. He plopped down, tired from acting out on his impulse to go to the Farplane and tell someone about his engagement. 

"_Engagement, huh? I'd never thought I'd come this far... and geez, I'm so stupid. I didn't even get her a ring..._" He thought back to the time he had discussed the issue with Yuna a few days earlier. 

[flashback - On the Besaid Dock]

Both of them sat on the dock, their bare feet dangling in the water, and their shoes and socks close by. The air was salty, and the lesser gulls flew over the sea around them, cawing as they did. 

Yuna looked surprised. "Ring? Aren't you only supposed to get one of those when you get married?" 

Tidus was surprised too. "You mean, no one gets engagement rings in Spira?"

"Nope. It's the first time I've heard of something like that!" Yuna giggled. "So don't worry about not getting me one, ok?"

"Arrgggh! But you know, it's what's girls *obsessed* over back in my Zanarkand, it just feels so WRONG!"

"Well, um. If it's that important to you, you can give me one if you want..."

"Uhh...that's where the problem is. I didn't have enough gil, and I thought you'd get upset..."

She breathed in deeply and looked skyward. "Who needs a ring anyway? You know what I think?" She paused for a bit, and smiled at him.

"You've already promised me forever. Isn't that enough?" 

[end flashback]

Tidus sighed and wrapped himself up in his sheets, already starting to doze off. "_If she says it's all right, maybe it just might be._" 

***********

It was morning, and the birds chirped noisily outside. A bright ray of light came through the windows, and Yuna slowly awoke to find that she had made her bed look like a hurricane had passed over it. Pillows were on the floor, and the sheets went every which way. "_Oops. I must've been really tired from blitzball the other day, and all that work too._" She sat up, stretching her arms as far she could reach, yawning loudly in the process. "_I know I shouldn't push myself too hard, but actually.... I feel pretty good._" She smiled. "_Maybe I should sleep in more often._" 

She eventually got up and padded down the hallway toward the bathroom, only to run into Rikku along the way, who apparently got there the same time that she did. 

"Mornin' Yunie!" She smiled extra big, extending her foot just inside the door, hoping that her cousin wouldn't notice. 

Unfortunately, Yuna was the perceptive type, and didn't let it slip. "Gooood morning..." She said, while practically jumping into the tiny room. She grinned. "Not good enough, Rikku!"

"Aww... you're no fun!"

With that, Yuna pushed the door closed, and Rikku had to wait a few minutes in the hallway for her turn.

Seconds later, Wakka walked down the hallway, inching past Rikku while carrying bags full of blitzball gear. He didn't notice her funny dance at first, but once he did, he started laughing all the way down to the beach, much to Rikku's chagrin. 

***********

After the usual morning commotion, Yuna got herself settled down in the study, ready to get some work done for the day. She stretched out her arms in front of her, cracking her knuckles as she looked down at the notes she had written down for herself. "_Well, since I'm worried about New Yevon and their advances, I should really do something about it... even if it doesn't seem like they mean harm to Spira... Just the other day, Lulu thought perhaps only a few corrupt individuals in the organization were really out to get me... kind of like how the former Maesters were._"

She picked up a pen and started signing some documents. The construction of Zanarkand was progressing at a good rate, the blitzball stadium was scheduled to be complete within the year. Yuna smiled as she finished off her name with an elegant curve. "Wonder if the Auroch's will let me play again?" she giggled softly, setting that document aside in order to sign more that gave permission for outside business to set up shop in the new Zanarkand. " _It'll be a place where Spira can come together... I really hope the people will catch on to the idea._"

Unconsciously, she started fingering the pinky ring on her right hand. "_Rings, hmm? I don't even remember getting a wedding ring when I got married to Seymour..._" She winced at the thought. "It's not like he has to prove anything to me..." she said, under her breath. 

"'He,' Yunie? Are you daydreaming again?" Rikku said, grinning. She had snuck up to her cousin quite easily. 

Yuna spun around in her chair, surprised. "Rikku! Geeez....don't scare me like that! If you were Wakka or Lulu, I'd be getting a lecture by now!"

Rikku pulled up a chair to sit next to her. "Well, it's just a little payback for this morning," she said, winking. 

Yuna made a pouting face but couldn't hold it long enough for it to count, making Rikku giggle a little bit more. Deciding it was about enough with the faces, Yuna calmed herself down as much as she could. "So, did you want to talk to me about something?"

"Yeah, the others have been wondering about this also, but you and Tidus ... have been acting kinda strange lately, like since last week or so..."

This was news to Yuna. "Strange? How so?" 

"Weeell...um, how do I say this... you guys haven't been talking to each other as much as you used to, y'know? You just um... _look_ at each other all the time."

Yuna thought back to just how she'd been acting recently. "Gosh, is it that obvious? I didn't even think it changed anything..."

Rikku was puzzled. "'It?' Yunie.... are you hiding something?" She searched Yuna's face for a hint of an answer. 

"Well, I guess you could say that..." she smiled to herself, then looked up at her cousin. 

Rikku was getting impatient, and started fidgeting in her chair. "C'mon, c'mon, spit it out already!" 

"Ok, how does the word 'engagement' stick with you?"

Rikku's eyes shot wide open. "YOU'RE ENGAGED?!?!!" her voice came out _loud_ and high pitched. 

Yuna motioned with her hands, "Shhh... Rikku! You left the door open! What if someone heard?" Rikku clamped her hands over her mouth, now done with her outburst, though Yuna could already hear footsteps rapidly approaching them.

"_And I wanted to keep it a secret until we had planned everything out..._" she sighed. "_Oh well._" 

Wakka came bursting into the room. "You're WHAT?!"

Lulu came in after him, and peeked around his shoulder, trying to calm him down. "Congratulations Yuna, I suspected as such." The black mage smiled warmly at her. 

"Thanks Lulu."

Wakka was still going at it however. "TIIIIIIIIDUSSSS! GET IN HERE NOW!" In an instant, Tidus came running down the hallway, and came into the study where everyone else was. He stopped to smile at Yuna for a brief instant, before addressing Wakka. "Um... am I in trouble or something?" Expecting him to get mad, Tidus braced for the worst. 

Instead, Wakka grinned widely, and put him in a headlock, while giving him a killer noogie. Tidus struggled for breath, and all the girls there were puzzled by this development. 

"Gosh, you shoulda told me man!" He stopped to wipe a tear from his eye. "You know how happy this makes me?! I mean, you guys are like my little brother and sister, YA?"

Rikku got caught up in the moment. "Wow, Yunie's gonna get married .....AGAIN!" 

Suddenly, Wakka stopped his 'attack' on Tidus.

Lulu shook her head. 

Tidus wore a strange expression.

Yuna's mouth was wide open. 

Kimahri had walked in just as she had finished her sentence, and crossed his arms in response. 

Rikku started to laugh nervously.

"Oops... did I say something wrong?"

Everyone's expressions made it clear that it was quite the understatement. 

*************

After the fiasco and a little bit more accomplished, Yuna decided that no more work would be done for the day, and walked straight out of the hut to enjoy the Besaid sun. She closed her eyes and let the breeze blow through her hair, smiling as it did. 

"Hey. It's about time you came out of there."

She opened her eyes slowly, and looked to where the familiar voice had come from. She giggled. "Tidus... were you waiting for me this whole time?"

Tidus stood up from his spot on the side of the hut. "Well, I... yeah," he grinned. "Actually, I was just thinking out here, you know, about us being engaged..."

"Yeah, it's... wonderful, isn't it?" She smiled at him. "And if you're still worrying about the ring, don't!"

He grinned and gave her a look, showing that he was still obviously worried about the issue. However, he decided to dismiss the comment for the time being. "Everyone at the Farplane wants to see you, especially your mom and dad. Oh, and Auron too."

"You know, you'll have to come with me as an interpreter..."

Tidus waved it off. "Yeah, yeah, I know."

"Anyway, have you seen Rikku around?"

"Yeah, she's where she usually is."

Yuna walked up to Tidus and took his hand. 

"Yuna?"

"Come on, I want to see if my guns are ready!" She started to walk briskly towards the edge of town.

Tidus was trailing behind, a confused expression on his face. "Guns?! Yunaaaa?"

Once they got there, they were surprised to see Lulu there as well, shooting sparks of electricity into all kinds of machina and teaching Rikku to do the same. It was interesting to see that Lulu was wearing her own pair of green Al Bhed goggles. Hearing their approach, Rikku looked up from her work and waved to the both of them. "Hey luuuuuuv birds! Hahaha!"

Yuna blushed. "Rikku!" 

Lulu looked up from what she was doing also, and put pushed her goggles up on her forehead. "You two were always quite the pair..." She smirked, going along with Rikku's teasing. 

Tidus laughed nervously. "Hehehe... yeah Lulu..." She was the first person he had told about liking Yuna back on the pilgrimage, after all. "_She must have seen this coming from miles away, now that I think about it._"

Rikku bounced over to a pile of machina behind her, and came back just as fast, holding something behind her back. "Anyway... I know what you're here for Yunie!"

"Really? They're ready?" Yuna couldn't contain her excitement. Ever since they found the guns in the ruins of Home, Yuna had always wanted to know how it felt like to be a sharpshooter, like her mother was. In a way, it was a way to get closer to her, like how she had become a summoner to become closer to her father. 

Rikku took out the guns from behind her back, light reflecting off their polished surfaces. 

"Wow, they're beautiful..." Yuna picked up both of them, admiring them. "You must have worked really hard on these!"

Rikku smiled. "Well, I try. And Lulu helped too," she smiled at her mentor. "Oh wait! I'll be right back." She rummaged through one of the old treasure chests that held her accessories, and pulled out a leather holster. "Here, this came with them, so I bet you'd wanna keep it."

She took it, and waved the guns around a little more. "I can't wait to try these out!"

Tidus got a little nervous with Yuna waving around the guns so haphazardly. "Those aren't... loaded are they?"

*************

The rest of the day was spent as Yuna's shooting practice. Countless cans, old blitzballs, and the occasional helpless animal went down by her bullets. After a few rounds, Tidus had gotten nervous staying close to her, and decided to go back to the village to talk with the guys, who all happened to be at the Crusader's Lodge. The tide was getting a bit high to practice, and it was a good time to relax anyway. 

Datto noticed Tidus walk in, his trademark outfit pointing him out immediately. "Hey bro! Come have a drink with us, ya?"

The rest of the Aurochs joined in with the greeting, urging him to sit at the table with them. Wakka was there as well. 

"Yo Tidus, congratulations again!" Wakka lifted up his glass of Besaid draft, and the rest of the team did the same. "Cheers on your engagement, brudda! That Yuna, she's lucky to have you, ya?"

"Aww geez, Wakka..." Tidus started to get a bit embarrassed. 

Suddenly, a mug came sliding down to the end of the table where he was at. "Come on now, let's have a good time, ya?" Keepa had already had too much to drink, and Jassu had slid one of his extras down to Tidus. 

Tidus raised his glass up in the air to meet everyone else's' with the clinking of the mugs resonating in the room. 

*************

Luckily, Tidus didn't drink as much as the rest of the guys did, and was able to guide Wakka home. 

Wakka leaned on Tidus for support as they made their way to the hut. "Sssh, ya, brudda...yoush is tha best, mann."

Tidus silently guided Wakka into his room, and left him there. He seemed to fall asleep the moment he hit the bed anyway. 

Tidus tiptoed out into the hallway, took a short trip to the bathroom to change into his pajamas, and then tiptoed even more until he reached Yuna's room. Tonight, something about the couch he usually slept on just made it seem so uncomfortable, not that it hasn't always been. "_Since we're engaged now, it's alright... isn't it?_" He pushed open her door silently and was greeted to the aftermath of Hurricane Yuna. The sheets were everywhere, there was a pillow on the floor, and Yuna was in the most inelegant position possible. He chuckled to himself as he made his way to her bed, slipping into the covers, and lying down beside her.

"Mmm..." Yuna woke up a little when she felt someone next to her. 

Tidus wrapped him arms around her, and kissed her on the forehead. "Sorry, go back to sleep, ok?" 

She closed her eyes, and got a little closer to him. Her voice came out sleepily in a whisper. "You know, I was just dreaming about whistling for you... strange, huh?" 

Tidus closed his eyes as well, feeling sleep starting to overtake him. He whispered back into her ear, 

"I'm here then, just like I promised." 

_Hold me,_

_Whatever lies beyond this morning_

_Is a little later on._

_Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all..._

_Nothing's like before._

_****************_

Author's Notes: 

~*~

**Update** - 3/14/03:

Ok, actually, I just got inspired by the reviews and SHAD...(again!) so expect at least one more chapter outta of this thing. And yeah if you guessed the next one has to do with something called a I don't know... *wedding,* then you're probably right. Expect some resolution (finally!) for a bunch of loose ends in this fic. Well, I'll try to anyway. 

~*~

Ok, hope you like this ending better, and thanks for all your wonderful reviews! I feel so loved. *happy sigh* I'm getting burnt out by LIFE at the moment, (well, it's all school really) so sorry about the icky update interval. You might not see the new fic idea I've got in my head for a long while now, so I won't say anything about it. ;-)

Much thanks to Shad for beta-ing this chapter! Gosh, I get all "eeeeh..." trying to pick at my own stuff anyway.

Anyway: Patterns! Did you notice them? Every chapter I alternate between a Tidus/Yuna POV, (though the Yuna chapters are a bit easier to write for some odd reason...) and this last one was a mix. Not that it really had any significance to the story, it was just some quirky little thing I made up for myself. 

Oh yeah. Japanese quote at the top? "I want to protect you. Always." It's on the back of my FFX video DVD from Hong Kong/ebay! Hehe, if you want a good laugh with the translations, it'll only set you back about $10-$15. I'm sure you don't need me to explain the song lyrics now, do you?

Ok, that's it! Seeee ya round.~


	13. Wedding Spells

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X or any of its characters! Heck, if I did, um... FFX-2 would be here already DAMMIT! *breathes* Ok... I'm calm. Really!

As always, character thoughts are in "_italics._" Koko ni kureba, kimi ni aeru kamo shirenai....

*****************

"It's really happening isn't it?" Yuna asked no one in particular, staring at her reflection in the mirror. 

Lulu passed a comb through Yuna's hair, arranging it just so. "Believe me, you'll be fine," she said with an almost-smile, speaking from experience. 

Yuna looked at her through the mirror, feeling unsure of herself. "I don't know, it feels like I'm in a *dream* or something..."

Rikku was below her, checking the hem on her slim fitting wedding gown. "Yunie, don't you go jinxing yourself alright?"

****************

Final Fantasy X: Beginnings

Chapter Thirteen: Wedding Spells

*****************

Wakka stood outside, knocking on the door. He had a well-fit black tux on, and his flaming orange hair was still held up by the familiar blue bandana. "It's almost time, ya?!"

Lulu answered back. "We'll be there in a minute, Wakka." She adjusted the thin straps that held her satin purple dress up. A few stray feathers from the back part obstructed her view when she turned around to check on her braids. 

"Hehe, ok Lu. See ya then." She blushed a bit at his reply, and could hear Wakka chuckle as he walked away. 

"He still gets to you, huh?" Rikku teased. She had on a dress that matched Lulu's. As she slipped on the long gloves, she noticed that it made the outfit look very similar to Yuna's, though in a different color, a shorter train, and crisscrossing straps across the shoulders. She made extra checks on her own upswept hair. 

Lulu blushed a little more at the comment, and saying nothing, started busying herself even more. 

Yuna, sitting in one of the chairs, giggled at Lulu's reaction. 

Looking at herself in the mirror, Lulu allowed herself to laugh a little. "I guess you could say that."

*************

Tidus was standing at the end of the red carpet, fiddling a bit with his bowtie. Looking up, he could see the towers of the Bevelle Temple. Looking back towards the audience, he could see the rows of Bevelle warrior monks that had come to protect them. Kimahri came up from behind him, also dressed for the occasion with a tux made to match Tidus' and Wakka's. "Why Bevelle?" his voice came out in a distinctive low growl. "Yuna... has bad memories here."

Tidus spoke without looking up at the blue guardian. "I know... that's exactly why I wanted it to be here. To make this a place of good memories also, you know?" He smiled a bit as he spoke. 

Kimahri wasn't seeing the logic, and scowled. It was something Tidus got used to on the pilgrimage. Seeing this, Tidus spoke up. "Don't worry, she agreed too. She was born here after all..." 

Tidus stopped himself from saying any more. "_Now that I think about it, I really don't know too much about her past, and how things came about but after today, we'll have a thousand opportunities to find out about each other, won't we?_"

Wakka walked up to the both of them. "Ok, I told the girls to get ready," he said with a toothy grin. He punched Tidus softly on the arm. "You're a lucky man, brudda." His ears perked up suddenly since the music had just started playing. "It's time, ya?" He winked before walking away and standing behind Tidus.

Tidus gulped. He looked over the audience, trying to calm himself down. "_You brought this on yourself remember?_" He chuckled to himself, releasing some tension. "_But wow... it seems like all of Spira came to see us..._" He looked through the crowd and saw a few familiar faces, feeling nostalgic. The feeling lasted for only a little bit as he saw Yuna appear at the other end of the red carpet, followed by Lulu and Rikku behind her.

He was staring, and he knew it. She was beautiful, a vision in white, yet something else caught his attention. The way her hair was swept up just so, and the way her dress trailed behind her in feathers; it was the exact same way she had looked when she was forced to marry Seymour. Tidus had dreamed of this day once, when Yuna would come down the aisle the same way just for him, though he never expected it to actually come true... 

Yuna had already reached the bottom of the steps in the time Tidus had these thoughts running through his head, smiling a knowing smile, telling him that she knew what he was thinking. Looking down at her dress, and back up to meet her eyes, he could only utter one word, in a whisper. 

"Why?"

Yuna looked up to him from under her transparent veil. She whispered back, "Like you said, I don't want to have any bad memories of this place, of the past... I don't want any regrets."

Tidus smiled warmly at her. "Yeah, I guess you're right." 

A priest from the old Temple at Besaid stood above them, and beckoned the two to walk up the stairs together. Tidus took Yuna's hand in his own, and once at the top, they faced each other. Their eyes were so focused on each other, they wouldn't have noticed anything else going on at the moment, and ... that's exactly what happened. 

A few gasps from the audience were subtle clues to something amiss, but it was already too late when the couple noticed what was going on. Yuna heard a faint click from just above her right ear, and seeing Tidus' horrified face, she could guess what it was. 

"You... you're here to kill me?" her voice came out strong and determined, yet trembling as well. Her eyes shifted right to catch a glimpse of her attacker. "_A Bevelle warrior monk?_" A few other armed warrior monks stood behind him, effectively freezing Tidus and the others in place. 

"Hmph. How perceptive of you, Lady Yuna." She could sense him smirking. She heard another latch shift on what she had identified to be a flamethrower. She closed her eyes tight, expecting the worst. 

Suddenly, she heard the other monks' guns clicking after a commotion. She opened her eyes quickly, and turned to see the threatening monk having trouble breathing, mostly because Tidus had him in a fierce headlock. Using him as a shield, the other monks couldn't shoot at him without harming their leader.

Tidus' voice came out, dripping with rage. "Don't even **think** of hurting Yuna. Not today, not _**ever**_." He tightened his hold on the man, ready to kill him if necessary. "Now, who are you? And why kill Yuna? Is the Eternal Calm not enough for you?!" 

Yuna felt something at hearing his words. "_Tidus..._"

The monk wriggled in Tidus' grasp. He laughed. "Well, if you want to know so badly, I'll tell you." He laughed. "Though it will do you no good in the Farplane..."

Tidus jerked the monk for his comment. "We're waiting."

"Sure you are." He laughed some more, and his body started glowing a blackish hue, the hum of the power got louder and more electric. The crackles prompted the guests to back away from the altar. Tidus kept him hold on the man however, even if it was apparent he was in pain. "Nnngh... what... is this?" Tidus clenched his teeth. The pain was almost becoming too great. 

Yuna ran towards him. "Tidus, let go!" she was pleading. From down below, she could see Wakka, Lulu, Kimahri and Rikku trying to help them, but blocked off by some invisible force. Their mouths moved, but she couldn't hear what they were saying. The other warrior monks had run away with the guests by this time, they must have not expected this. Yuna narrowed her eyes in thought. "_He must be a sorcerer of great power like... Seymour?_" 

She suddenly had an idea, and extended both of her arms outward. "SHELL!" Green light emanated from her hands, and Tidus was instantly thrown back from the monk, due to the force of the newly formed magical shield. 

Tidus felt disoriented, wondering why he had tumbled over backwards down the red carpeted steps. He rubbed his head. Looking up, he not only saw Yuna casting a new barrier over herself, but also a dark spider-like blob trying to free itself from Rikku's pouch on just the other side of the dark glowing magical wall he had landed against. Rikku was obviously freaking out, and Lulu quickly detached the parts of the blob that had attached itself to her. Unable to shoot it down with spells, it eventually floated up and crossed the barrier, coming to the side of the deviant warrior monk. 

Yuna stood her ground. Fortunately, her wedding dress offered some degree of free movement, if she should need it. She noticed the Yevon blob at the same time Tidus had. "_That Dark Matter... it must have gotten activated by all this energy..._"

The monk wobbled, holding his throat and recovering his breath. Clutching his flamethrower, he swiftly pointed it at Yuna. "Lady Yuna... your shield will do you no good you know..." He smirked as the Yevon blob floated into the flamethrower, melding with it, and gaining its power. He held on to its latch. "Goodbye." 

Bright orange flames leapt out with a tremendous force from the gun, giving Yuna little room to avoid the onslaught. She could feel the heat already, watching as one of the barriers she had put around herself slowly gave way. "_Is this how it's really going to end?_ _...On my wedding day?_"

Since the monk's magical energy was focused on attacking Yuna however, this freed up the barrier that had held her other guardians back. From behind, Lulu quickly cast Blizzaga to momentarily freeze his gun, even though the flames were already starting to get through a moment later, it gave all of them an opportunity to do something.

Lulu still had her arms extended, trying to prolong the spell's effect. She turned to the others. "Hurry!"

Rikku quickly ran up to the weakened Tidus and had him drink one of her patented Al Bhed potions. Tidus gasped for air, feeling its curative properties. "Thanks Rikku, looks like I owe you again, huh?" Rikku smiled. "Mhmm... but who says I was counting?" 

In the meanwhile, Yuna had already erected another barrier over herself, and Wakka and Kimahri had latched on to the monk in the same way Tidus had done earlier. Wakka attempted to pry the flamethrower away, with little success. Momentarily, Tidus joined once more in trying to restrain him, while Lulu and Rikku tried to keep the flamethrower frozen with a barrage of Blizzard spells. 

Tidus was once again at the monk's throat. "You think you can defeat me?" The monk laughed, even if the situation his was in was utterly ridiculous, with three guardians restraining him, and the other two rendering his weapon ineffective. Once again, he summoned up magic power within himself, throwing everyone but Tidus backward. The monk didn't expect this, and tried lunging at Yuna, to no avail. 

"W-what? Why didn't you...?" 

This was a surprise to Tidus as well, though he didn't have much time to marvel at it. "_Is it because of Yuna's shell, or... does coming back from the Farplane have other benefits I don't know I about?_" The monk still attempted to get Tidus off of his back. 

"Nnngh. Don't you ever... give up???" He struggled to bring his flamethrower back up into position. 

Tidus was effective at keeping him down, he looked at Yuna, who appeared to be in deep thought and in distress. "Yuna! Get out of here!" He shouted, worried for her safety. 

Yuna wouldn't budge. "_How did we defeat Yevon last time....? There must be something we did... wait!_" Her posture straightened up suddenly, and she extended her arms, with her hands reaching out. She looked ahead of her. "HO--*"

Tidus cried out in pain because the warrior monk had elbowed him. "_I-I can't hurt Tidus when I cast it though... what do I do?_" She searched her mind for the answer. Recently, she had been training to cast spells without her rod and only with her hands, but what about spells that needed pinpoint accuracy? 

"_Pinpoint accuracy? Like shooting with guns...?_"

She extended her arms once more, yet this time she extended only the index finger on her right hand. She put her left hand under it to keep it from shaking. "I.. can do this." Her trigger finger started to glow with a soft white light.

The monk looked up when he noticed Yuna's position, and also noticed that Tidus had loosed his grip since he seemed confused as well. Taking this opportunity, he raised his flamethrower once more, and pulled the trigger...

At the same time, Yuna shouted, "HOLY!!!!" And let the energy go, piercing through the magical flames and through the part of the soldier's torso that Tidus wasn't holding. The monk crumpled in Tidus' grasp, and the spell left him breathing shallowly on the red carpet of the altar. A few feathers and the fingertips of her gloves had been slightly burnt, but the recoil from her spell had pushed her far enough away to avoid the brunt of the attack.

Tidus kneeled down to check that the guy wasn't about to get back up. The monk was still conscious, however, though it didn't seem he could stand, much less pose a threat. Tidus let out the breath he was holding in, and said tiredly, "You have got a lot of explaining to do."

"Errrrrrk..." was all he could say at the moment. Yuna's Holy had taken away much of his power. 

Tidus stood up, and dusted off his tux, only to be promptly hugged by Yuna, who had come running from where she had cast the spell. "Yuna? You ok?" He lifted her face up and put a hand on her cheek.

She put her hand over his. "I think so... I was about to ask you the same question..."

The other guardians came up to them, just now recovering from the dark magic blast. Releasing Tidus from her arms, Yuna walked over to them. "Thank you, everyone."

Wakka put a hand on her shoulder. "No problem, ya? Now what do you say about getting this wedding started up again?"

Tidus lifted an eyebrow. "Are you serious?" About three-fourths of their guests had gone home already by airship, a barely conscious assassin was at their feet, and the priest seemed to be hiding somewhere, waiting for the commotion to die down. 

"I don't see why not Yunie... you've prepared so much for this day y'know?" Rikku said, a hint of worry in her voice. 

Lulu spoke up as well. "It's up to you two to figure out if you want to go ahead with this today, though I think... Rikku's right."

Yuna nodded, and looked back at Tidus, smiling as she walked towards him. "I don't want any regrets..." she stopped at where he was and took his hands in hers.

Tidus grinned down at her, clasping down on her gloved hands gently. "So we can make this a good memory, right?"

Yuna nodded, and looked around her for the whereabouts of the priest. Much to her amusement, Kimahri came back over to the group, holding the priest up only by the collar of his cloak. He them set him down in front of Tidus and Yuna. 

"Lady Yuna! That was amazing!" The priest couldn't contain his excitement. 

"Thank you." she smiled. "But we have a favor to ask of you."

Tidus chimed in. "Could you get us married by any chance?"

The priest looked down at the defeated warrior monk, around at the charred surroundings and the non-existent guests, and the battle-worn state of the bride and groom. This had to be one of the most bizarre weddings he had ever conducted, and his expression showed his feeling about it to the rest of the group. 

Tidus reassured him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I know, I know, I was thinking the same thing." 

************

After they had moved the would-be assassin off of the steps and bound him to a chair using some of Rikku's machina handcuffs and a rope infused with Silence, the ceremony was ready to be started off again. 

The priest pulled out a small book from within his robes, and cleared his throat before beginning. He recited old lines from the weddings formerly held under the church of Yevon, with appropriate modifications. 

Tidus looked across at Yuna, even though he heard and understood all the words coming out of the priest's mouth, he was fixated on her, her eyes holding him in place. He smiled at her, then his face took on a strange expression, since he wondering why someone was nudging him all of a sudden...

It was Wakka. "Pssst. Brudda! Take the ring already, ya?"

Tidus quickly snapped back to reality, turning red of the embarrassment. He took the ring from Wakka, and turned back to Yuna, taking her left hand in his.

"Whenever you need me, I'll be there, all you have to do is whistle, you know that." Yuna nodded in response. "And, Yuna, I want to love you for the rest of my life... I don't know of any other way I'd be happier than being with you. I'll stay with you... always." Averting his gaze from her eyes, he slipped the slim gold band around her ring finger. He smiled warmly, he could tell she was getting as emotional as he was.

Yuna then got a similar nudge from Lulu to take the ring she was to give Tidus. She took Tidus' left hand in her own. "You taught me what it was to truly smile," she smiled at this point, eliciting the same response from Tidus. "...meeting you, it seemed like it was my destiny.... and now that we're here, we can finally dream of the future together. So with the love I have for you, let's make those dreams a reality..." With that, she gently slipped on the thicker gold band around his finger.

Tidus brought his hands up to meet hers, and Yuna intertwined her fingers with his once he did. 

The priest spoke up. "You may now kiss the bride." He smiled. This was always his favorite part. 

The couple's hands came apart slowly, and Tidus gently lifted Yuna's veil, finally seeing her face clearly. He looked into her eyes lovingly before wrapping his arms around Yuna's slim waist, and once their lips met, he kissed her softly and tenderly. Yuna did the same in return, the underlying passion apparent, with her hands pressed against his chest. Once the kiss was ended, the pair finally noticed the cheering and applause that the rest of the group had been giving them for quite some time. Well, mostly Rikku and Wakka, but that was beside the point. 

"Congratulations Lady Yuna; Sir Tidus." The priest bowed to them, performing the prayer formerly associated with Yevon. Now, it was more of a "goodwill" gesture than anything. 

"Thank *you* for performing the service, kind sir," Yuna smiled back at him, unable to contain her happiness. Still in his embrace, she looked up at Tidus. "Strange how we ended up with a small wedding like we wanted, isn't it?"

He laughed. "I guess you could say that."

Wakka rolled his eyes, and said jokingly, "Well, I dunno, maybe Spira would be at least *interested* in their Grand Maestress getting married, ya?"

It was Yuna's turn to laugh. "I know Wakka, just kidding! ...Maybe." She smirked at him, making Wakka raise an eyebrow. 

Tidus released Yuna from his embrace, and extended his hand to her. He bowed eloquently. "Ok, Lady Yuna, shall we depart?" he said with his distinctive grin.

Yuna blushed a bit before answering, that grin did wonders in turning her into jelly. She laughed at his antics. "Silly..." she put her hand in his, and they both started walking down the stairs, the other guardians in tow. 

The whole crew was about to pack up and head back to Besaid for the wedding reception, though Rikku pointed out quite bluntly, "What about him?" She pointed to the monk that had bound up to a chair earlier. 

"Uuungh." Was all the monk could reply. 

"Wow, your Holy must be some powerful stuff..." Tidus said, seeing the monk in such a state. He slipped off the helmet to catch a better glimpse of his face. "_I don't recognize him, but his presence seems familiar..._" 

Yuna walked up to him. "Well, I want to find out why he was after me in the first place, so that I know something like this won't happen again."

Lulu peeked over Yuna's shoulder. "It looks like he won't be able to tell you anything in the shape he's in, though."

Yuna nodded. "He must have been consumed by so much dark energy for Holy to affect him this much, so I want to find out the reason for that also..." She looked pensive for a moment. "I'll consider curing him later so he can talk."

Rikku was confused. "Later? Does that mean... he's coming back with us?" 

Tidus nodded. "Yeah. Seems like it." He looked at Yuna. "Right?"

"Mhmm... I'm not going to let someone like him ruin a day like this, so we'll deal with him after everything is done for the day." She added sarcastically, "Besides, it'll give him time to recover."

"Yunie!" Rikku teased. "I didn't know you had it in you!"

Yuna gave a knowing smile. "Kimahri, if you could please...?" She motioned to the chair the monk was in. 

Kimahri came over, and easily hoisted the monk up on his shoulder. 

Wakka started walking towards the airship, ahead of everyone else. "I never expected Yuna's wedding to end up like *this*..." he said, rubbing his temples.

Lulu came up beside him. "Believe me, no one did."

Wakka smiled, seeing her. "Now aren't you glad I convinced you to leave Chappu at Besaid with the old lady?"

Lulu nodded. "Well, you have to be right... sometimes." Her lips formed a smirk, waiting for his reaction. "_3...2...1..._"

"WHAT WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN, LU?!"

With that, everyone got on Cid's airship, and off to Besaid for their homecoming.

*************** 

Once at Besaid, everyone in the group filed off of the airship, well, everyone except the Bevelle warrior monk no one had found out the name of. He was left on the airship in one of it's detainment rooms at Cid's and Rikku's suggestion, so that he wouldn't cause any more trouble for the day; a decision everyone was happy with. 

Upon coming at the village entrance, they were greeted to quite a sight. Many of their guests had come back to celebrate with them, and all the village people were there too. As it was an outside reception, the whole town was decorated festively, and food was literally everywhere. Preparations for the bonfire later that night were already being prepared. 

Tidus was amazed. "Wow... look at all this..." He walked up to a random person. "Hey, thanks for doing this, it's great!"

The person turned around. "Sir Tidus!" It was Shelinda. She seemed surprised to see him there. "For some reason, the Bevelle monks told us to evacuate... what happened?" She looked him up and down, noticing a bit of wear and tear on his tux. 

Yuna had caught up to him, and appeared in an even worse state that he did in her charred-looking wedding dress. 

Shelinda was taken aback even more. "Lady Yuna! What on earth happened to you???"

They smiled in unison, and laughed nervously. Tidus spoke up. "We'll tell everyone what went on a little later... but everything's ok, really!" 

Yuna added, "Besides, this is our special day, so... why don't we get this thing started?"

Shelinda seemed to accept their reasoning. "Ok, I'll tell the old woman that you two are here safe and sound." She dropped what she was doing, and walked back towards one of the huts. 

Tidus looked at Yuna. "You think we should change? I mean, to avoid anything weird?"

"Nah, besides, I think you look quite charming all battle-worn," she answered in reply. 

Tidus blushed, just a bit, and grinned. "Okay, if you say so..." Just noticing something, he motioned to her with his hands. "Um... your dress?"

Yuna looked down. "Eh?" One of the sides of her strapless dress had edged down dangerously low. Embarrassed, she pulled it back up to cover herself. Now it was her turn to blush. She looked up into his eyes and smiled. "Thanks."

Now by this point, Rikku had come up to the two of them to tell them that everything was ready for them. She tapped both of them playfully. "Ok luuuuv birds, when you're done with the lovey-dovey stuff, come on over to the steps in front of the temple, ok?"

Both of them snapped back to reality, noticeable now that they actually noticed that Rikku was there. 

Yuna laughed. "Sorry about that Rikku, it's just you know..."

Rikku laughed with her cousin. "Yeah, I know..."

Tidus was confused by all this girl talk. "I hope I know....?"

On the way to the temple, this made both girls laugh even more, leaving Tidus is a more confused state than he had been in before. 

***************

The reception was a beautiful one, with lots of festivities, running into old faces, and lots and lots of food. With it being outdoors, it reminded Yuna of other parties held in this place, like for when she had become a summoner, and more recently, upon Tidus' return. Life has thrown her many twists and turns... she was glad everything had turned out for the best, eventually. 

Tidus walked up to her from behind, and seeing her staring up at the stars, asked, "Whatcha thinking about?"

She leaned back into him. "Things..."

Tidus wrapped his arms around her to keep her warm. He looked upward as well. "Yeah, a lot has happened, hasn't it? And now, something like this happens... it's wonderful, isn't it?"

"Wonderful... " she smiled. "It describes this perfectly."

They stood there quietly for a moment or two, before Tidus broke the silence.

"Well, what would you say..." he said jokingly, "...if I said it's time to eat some *wonderful* cake, huh?"

Yuna turned around and looked him square in the eye. "You do know that you just totally ruined that moment, right?" She said, a half-smile accenting the end of her sentence.

"But it's *cake*, Yuna! You even said it yourself that you were looking forward to it!"

She playfully punched him, then hooked her arm through his. "Ok, ok, let's go eat some cake...."

Tidus looked at Yuna as they walked back towards the big bonfire. He had stopped her train of thoughts only because he thought that maybe she was still frazzled from the day's events, though seeing her in this state quelled his fears. Perhaps he should stop thinking about it too, that is, why someone would attempt to kill Yuna on her wedding day, or why someone would want to kill Yuna at all. There were definite ties to the assassination at Luca, but...

"Tidus, we're going to feed each other cake... right?" Yuna said, smiling up at him. 

He blinked his eyes to get back into focus. "Haha, yeah, Yuna, just be sure you don't miss!"

"Hey! Same for you too!" She tugged on him harder as she started walking faster to where everyone was. 

Tidus let himself be pulled along by her, he had to admit, a slice of that cake was starting to sound really good. 

"_I'll just enjoy today... the answers will come later._"

*************

Alone on the airship, the monk sat in the dark, still bound in Rikku's silence-infused ropes. He hung his head and sighed. Wedding cake from the wedding he almost sabotaged was starting to sound really good right now. Well, better than the sound of his rumbling stomach anyway. 

***********

Author's Notes:

So what if I missed this fic's one year anniversary by *counts* ...five days? It's close enough. :-) So that means... HAPPY (belated) B-DAY fic! You're not even done yet and it's been a year! Whoo. Yes, yes, this time I'm definitely not saying that it's the end, so don't worry about that. It might have a delay on it, since school's starting up again, and MCATs are coming up too, so hang in there for the next one guys!

Much thanks to Christian (Super-Slayer 13) for beta-ing this chapter! SUPER thanks for fixing my grammar icks, man. ;-) He also helped me out with the title for this thing! It's actually pretty hard to find one that fits sometimes, you know? plug Be sure to check out his Lulu fics!/plug

I used Yuna's dress from FFX just because I didn't want to spend a whole paragraph describing it, just for you to get the wrong idea. ;-) It was a pretty design too, so it would be a shame if the dress was never used again... at least that's what I think. And Tidus in black? Whoo. Is it hot in here? 

The Japanese line from the top was from one of Yuna's lines in FFX-2. "If I come here, I might be able to meet you." Well, it's a more or less literal translation, but you get the idea. 

The only element I'm taking from FFX-2 is the fact that Yuna learns to use guns. So don't worry, no speculation, no introduction of new characters from the game, and... yeah. You get the picture. This *is* the FFX section after all. 

Ok, as always, if you made it this far, leave me a review and tell me what you think! I take all comments, whether they be good, bad, or nitpicky. So do it, ya???


	14. Revealed Truth

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X or any of its characters. But thanks to a loophole called "fanfiction," even a lowly writer like myself can borrow them for a little while!

Character thoughts in "_italics._" Kimi na no? Sore tomo, ukeru dake?

***********

In the darkness, the monk smirked from beneath his helmet, even in his situation. 

He moved once again against the silence infused ropes he was bound in.

"Heh. Perhaps it is time to create a new Sin..." He laughed out loud, even if no one could hear him. "I've waited long enough."

Dark energy pulsed through his body; his eyes set with determination. The chair he sat in started to give way. 

************

Final Fantasy X: Beginnings

Chapter Fourteen: Revealed Truth

************

Tidus awoke to bright sunlight pouring in from the window, forcing him to open his eyes. "Unnngh..." he stretched out his arms, letting out a yawn. He felt some movement behind him, and watched wide eyed as an arm made its way across his waist. 

"Mmm..." From the sounds of it, Yuna was still sleeping. 

Tidus was awake by now. "_Ok... I'm in Yuna's bed and..._" he looked down at himself. "_No shirt on? Just my boxers? Eep?_" He didn't want to wake Yuna, so he turned around in her arms slowly to face her. When he looked her over, she was wrapped up in blankets, had hair loosely covering her face, and a bare shoulder was sticking out from under the covers. 

Tidus' heart started beating faster. If they did do anything on their wedding night he really would've liked to remember it, but as hard as he tried, he couldn't think of anything that happened after the wedding reception. He breathed in deeply, looking intently at Yuna's face. "Did we really...?" He mumbled under his breath. 

Yuna stirred at this, and awoke to the sight of a shirtless Tidus, which elicited quite a blush. "Do... what?" She sat up a little, revealing that the bare shoulder he had just seen was just a strap that had slipped down on her pajama top. She rubbed her eyes and smiled at his current expression, knowing exactly what he was thinking. 

She smiled. "OH... I remember now." 

*****Flashback to the night before*****

At the reception, both of them had a good time, as well as quite a bit of champagne. After everyone had gone home for the night, they went home soon after, the day's events catching up with them. 

Yuna opened the door to her room, her eyelids drooping. "Wow... it feels like I've cast twenty Holy's in a row today..."

Tidus followed her inside. "I... can stay with you tonight, can't I?" 

Yuna turned around and playfully hit him on the shoulder. "Of course you can, silly." She kissed him gently on the lips. 

Tidus took the opportunity to take the kiss deeper, pulling her closer to him, and escalating their shared passion. Breathing heavily, they eventually pulled apart. "Good," he said, grinning. "It *is* our wedding night after all..." He moved in to kiss her once more, his hands wandering this time, loosening her hair, her wedding dress, all while moving toward the bed. Yuna soon followed suit, doing the same the entire time, Tidus' tux coming off part by part. Eventually, the two made it to bed, Yuna in her lingerie, and Tidus only in his boxers. 

Yuna continued to get lost in the moment kissing Tidus passionately. Unfortunately for her, she noticed that his eyes had drooped low and closed shut once he was lying down; not opening again when she stopped.

"Zzzzzz...." He snored loudly. Apparently, he turned out to be more tired than she was. 

Yuna sat up and sighed. She got up to get some clothes to change into, laughing a bit at how the situation had turned out. 

*****Flashback End*****

Tidus sat up and put a hand on his forehead. "Oh man Yuna... I'm sorry." He looked up at her, and laughed a bit, "I'm so embarrassed."

Yuna scooted closer to him, her face inching closer to his. "It's ok, I forgive you," she said jokingly.

Tidus grinned, their faces closer now. "I promise I'll make it up to you. If you know what I mean..." He kissed her lips briefly, then went straight for her neck. 

"Tidus...wait! We have to get up!" Yuna's heart was beating faster from the turn of events. 

Suddenly, there was knocking on the door. "THAT'S RIGHT YOU TWO!!!"

Both Tidus and Yuna immediately turned their attention to the door. "Rikku?!"

"Heh Heh. I always catch you two at the worst times somehow..." her voice was muffled through the door. "Seriously though," she took on a different tone, " that monk we tied up yesterday is acting really strange. Well, at least that's what Dad says. He wants you to check it out."

Yuna walked up to the door, flipped the lock, and opened it partway. "Okay, I'll do it. I'll be ready soon, so tell him not to worry."

Rikku hugged her cousin. "You're the best Yunie." She looked past her cousin's shoulder, spotting Tidus in the bed. She whispered to Yuna, "Congratulations, cuz." She winked at her cutely. 

Yuna whispered back, "But we didn't do anything!"

"Suuuure..." She grinned and started walking away, shouting over her shoulder, "You better get ready soon too, Tidus!" 

Yuna shut the door, and sighed. She turned back to Tidus. "Gosh, what am I stressing about? We're married!"

Tidus nodded his head in agreement, even if he didn't know what she was talking about. 

*************

Cid's airship was docked at the Besaid Port, meaning that the S.S. Winno would have to find docking elsewhere for the time being. Yuna had put on her traditional summoner costume at Lulu's suggestion, thinking it would help in bringing the monk's true feelings to the surface if he was indeed connected to Yevon. She had come with Tidus, though apparently the rest of her guardians had been early risers this morning. 

Yuna walked up to Lulu, adjusting her obi. "It feels so strange wearing these clothes when I don't have a speech to give or something..."

Lulu looked her over. "It's ok, it looks good." She looked back at Tidus, noticing that he had his blitzball uniform on. "Good, just like I predicted." She motioned over to the airship entrance. "It's time."

Yuna took a deep breath. "Ok." She marched onward onto the ship first, followed by her guardians.

She didn't have to walk far to be greeted by her uncle. "HEY THERE MY LITTLE NIECE!" Suddenly, she was caught in a crushing bear hug.

"H-hey, Uncle Cid..." 

He released her for the time being. "This guy you brought in has been acting pretty weird lately, so be careful, ok?" 

"I know."

He ruffled her hair. "That's my Yuna." He turned to the others. "Ok, follow me, all of ya." He walked through several doors, and turned a corner to the left. After several locks were released, the door slowly slid up, revealing the monk sitting in a visibly abused chair, his head hanging low. 

Tidus stepped in front of Yuna, not wanting her to step in first. 

"Tidus... it's ok." She nudged him aside, letting her eyes convince him. She walked up to the monk. "First off, what's your name?"

Wakka cut in. "Yuna, what kind of question is that?!"

Yuna waved him off. "Shh Wakka, I know what I'm doing..." She turned back to the monk. "Well?"

"Heh heh heh heh." He took a glance at Yuna before answering. "You can call me YEVON."

"_He's flipping out!_" In the doorway, Lulu, Rikku, Wakka, and Tidus were thinking the exact same thing. Kimahri, unfortunately, had gone back to Mt. Gagazet to look after things the day before. 

Yuna kept a straight face after his answer. "So this is why you were so easy to defeat back then." She could tell that his eyes and aura had become different from before. 

He smirked. "So, you believe me?"

Yuna looked him straight in the eye. "This time you're not coming back."

"Haha. Quite a threat, Lady Yuna." He shifted in the ropes. "So, you want to hear my story before... well, you all die?" Some dark energy appeared at his fingertips, though was quickly extinguished by Rikku's silence spell in the ropes.

Tidus growled from the doorway. "Just spit it out already, bastard."

"_Heh. They all bought it._" The monk cleared his throat. "It was quite easy you see, to find people that were very devoted to me, and would do anything for me..." he took a quick glance at Wakka, throwing the red-haired blitzer off guard. "It's not that this body was the best I could find, but... this man was conveniently there when I needed him..."

Lulu cut in this time. "So that explains the blob we fought. It was a fake, allowing Sin to be destroyed, but not you."

"How perceptive of you. Yes. I wasn't as powerful then, so I transferred my consciousness into another. It was also very easy to convince followers of Seymour once I revealed who I was. In essence, he became part of me, my shell, once he died in Sin, thanks to all of you. Convincing New Yevon to go with me was a pushover, they are too trusting of outsiders favoring the old religion..."

Tidus stepped into the room and stood next to Yuna. "But, you're a summoner at heart, huh? In the two years I wasn't here, you could've killed her at anytime. You didn't want to kill her at first, but instead have her join you, removing her from power. Weird way of revenge if you ask me."

The monk scoffed, having nothing to say. 

Yuna looked pensive. "When your original plan didn't work and you caught wind of Tidus' return, that's when you decided to try and kill me."

"Yes. Because now, you aren't a weak and easy target anymore for conversion. You are a lost cause." He grinned widely. "Thanks for the lengthy delay everyone."

Rikku noticed it first. "Watch out! The silence is wearing off!" Panicked, she pushed Yuna and Tidus aside and tried to infuse the ropes with another spell.

An audible snap was suddenly heard in the room, and the monk stood up, the ropes disintegrated by his dark energy. Rikku was thrown back first, knocking down Lulu and landing on top of her. 

"Ow..." Rikku rubbed her head, and Lulu did the same. 

Tidus had stepped in front of Yuna again, shielding her from the energy emanating from the man. "_For some reason I'm partially immune to his attacks. Maybe I can do something..._" Without thinking things out any further, he quickly started running up to the monk...

...and body slammed him. 

Yuna gasped. "_He didn't!_"

The monk wasn't expecting anything like this, and was momentarily dazed. Tidus grit his teeth, the dark energy traveling up his arms. "Wakka! QUICK!"

Wakka pulled out his blitzball. "I got you covered, brudda!" He charged up with magical energy, and let the ball loose. "TRIPLE FOUL!" Tidus quickly jumped out of the way, and the ball connected squarely with the monk's jaw, sending him flying toward the wall. A clang was heard as the monk made impact with the wall first, then the floor. 

Now, he was on the floor, blinded, poisoned, silenced, and in obviously in a lot of pain. Everyone gathered around him, now that he was subdued. Tidus had gotten up and joined them after shaking off the after effects of the dark energy. 

Yuna tugged on his arm. "You ok?"

He looked down at her and grinned. "Yeah... I'm fine." 

"Yuna... you need to send him," Lulu said, interrupting their exchange. 

Yuna looked down at the monk. "Yes, I know." She took out her staff. "This is a soul that needed to be sent to the Farplane a long time ago."

Her friends backed away as Yuna began her dance around the fallen monk, her movements fluid and beautiful; a stark contrast to the monk's painful looking struggle. Pyreflies started coming forth from the monk's body at the same time his movements started to cease. Yuna turned on her heel, and brought the staff in front of her, turning its base upwards as the monk's body finally disappeared. 

Yuna let out a big breath. "It was a double sending, it was true."

Tidus walked up to her. "So... should we tell people that we killed Yevon again?"

Yuna giggled. "Nah... I think they've got plenty other things to worry about."

***********

With time, everyone had moved into the airship's cockpit to inform Cid of what had happened. Well, Rikku explained in Al Bhed so the rest of the cockpit crew could understand. 

Tidus looked out over the Besaid waters through the window glass. "Hey Yuna, feel like going somewhere today?"

She was sitting in one of the chairs in front of navigation control. She smiled. "Only if you help me with some of my work later..."

"Of course. You don't even have to ask." He grinned. 

Yuna was amused. "Ok, where do you want to go?"

"Umm... somewhere we haven't been in a while." He went back to looking out over the ocean. 

Yuna thought for a little bit. "I know... Zanarkand. I want you to see it."

He laughed. "Hey, isn't that my line?"

"HEY UNCLE CID!" She didn't bother getting up. "LET'S GO TO ZANARKAND!"

Rikku had just finished explaining things anyway, so he heard her loud and clear. "Ok, sweetheart, hold on!" In no time, he had the ship flying off from Besaid waters.

Yuna stood up and joined Tidus by the window. "So, what do you say about visiting your house over there?" 

"Hmm...? You went and built that?" Tidus was amused.

"Of course! We built everything from the plans we found in Seymour's sphere. You'll just have to tell me where it is." 

"Hehe. Well. Are you hinting at something here, love?" He leaned in and kissed her briefly on the lips. 

"Oh I don't know, maybe I am now that you said something..." She smiled a knowing smile before kissing him back.

_Wouldn't it be wonderful, _

_if we could walk together hand in hand?_

_I want to go_

_To your town, your house, your arms. _

****************

Author's note:

Helloooo... I am back! Well, after a really long hiatus for which I am really really sorry about! Life has just given me so much drama lately, so yeah. Ick. I'm on the last leg of my WEEK of summer vacation here, which explains my posting here. :-) I'm not saying that this is the last one necessarily, because I always seem to go back on my word when I do that. 

Well, maybe it is, and maybe it isn't. I'm keeping it open to maybe an epilogue, but that may be long in coming also. Let me know if you want me to actually try writing one, ok?

Sorry about the shorter length of this chapter. When it's done, it's done, and I really can't think of any more to smoosh up in here, hehe. Oh! Regular things: the Japanese line for this chapter comes from FFX-2, in Yuna's dream sequence with her and Tidus running down the hallway. "Is it you? Or am I just imagining things?" The actual chapter title comes from the name of a track from the FFX OST, the music that plays when Tidus finds out Yuna is going to die. 

I just couldn't resist the Suteki Da Ne insert at the end of this chapter. Hopefully you didn't get too many cavities there. ;-)

Expect my one shot somewhere around this section, more FLUFF for you, yup.

If you've come this far, tell me what you think and drop a review! Like it? Maybe not? Even if you think it's total crap, I'd like to know. (Just be nice about it!) Constructive criticism makes it better for all of us, yesh. 

Last thing. I love getting to know my reviewers, so if you ever feel like it, drop by and say HI! On AIM or MSN messenger. Hehe, to tell you the truth, I've gotten all jealous from SHAD and all her like, *tons* of contacts, hehehe. 

That's it! Sorry for the (regularly) long author's note, hope to be back up in here soon. :-) 


	15. Metropolis

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X or any of its characters. But I do own two copies of the game! Why? My original one conked out with a scratch I couldn't see! *sigh* 

Ok! All you need to know is that character thoughts are in _"italics." _Warai nagara, tabishitain da. 

*************

_"I've been having these weird thoughts lately..._

_Like, is any of this for real, or not?"_

*************

Final Fantasy X: Beginnings

Chapter Fifteen: Metropolis

*************

Tidus bolted upright in bed, gasping for air. _"I dreamt I was falling... to the beat of techno music?!"_

He shook the image out of his head, noticing that Yuna was still sleeping next to him, unaware of it all. She had a slight smile on her face, and her body rose and fell with the sound of her breathing. Quietly, he got out of bed and tucked in the covers over her bare shoulders. Since he couldn't go back to sleep, he decided he should get ready for the day at least. 

On his way to the bathroom, he glanced out the living room window, several tall buildings obstructing the view of the ocean and the newly risen sun, which had turned everything a rosy shade of orange. He smiled, thinking of Macalania while grabbing a towel from one of the side closets. _"It's been a few days since we arrived in Zanarkand, with Yuna overseeing the project and all. This area of town is done, along with the blitzball stadium..."_

He stepped into the bathroom, threw the towel on the rack, and started to undress. _"She even had my house built, the silly girl..." _He smiled inwardly. Stepping into the shower, he turned the knobs; hot water starting to steam up the room. _"I think it's been a shock for me so far, you know, with my Zanarkand and Spira existing at the same time, who thought I'd ever see this place again?"_

Now shampooing his hair, he didn't know if he imagined the sound of the door creaking open or not. He slid open the shower door a crack to see a towel clad Yuna closing the door and locking it behind her with a playful look in her eyes.

"Mind if I join you?" Her eyes stood out in the steam filled room. The towel fell as she started to walk toward him. 

He grinned, admiring his wife. "Of course not." He slid the door open and stole a kiss before he closed it again.

**********

Yuna couldn't stop smiling at everyone as she went through the motions of getting through her morning. _"Ok, summoner clothes for that speech,"_ she picked up the pair of long sleeves from her closet, and turned a corner and ended up in the living room, a skip in her step. "Good morning everyone!" she beamed, upon spotting her guardians. 

Lulu, Wakka, and Rikku made identical faces of confusion. Were Kimahri there, he would've had the same expression he always wore, but he was currently occupied with set up at the stadium already. Rikku, munching on a piece of toast and her mouth partially full, said, "What's gotten into you, Yunie? Ever since we got to Zanarkand, you've been like this _every_ day..."

Wakka still held his look of confusion, but nevertheless went back to the newspaper he had been reading, cradling young Chappu in his other arm. Lulu, leaning slightly against Wakka, her chin in her hands, gave Yuna a look that said "I know exactly why you're like this," but she didn't say anything. 

Yuna blushed. Had she been that obvious?

Lulu interrupted her thoughts. "Good morning, Yuna, what's the plan today?"

"Oh! Today is the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new blitzball stadium, so I'll be there to er... cut the ribbon."

Yuna suddenly heard a voice from behind her. "Wise words from the Grand Maestress," Tidus said as he laughed at her word choice, and her accompanying annoyed expression from his comment. "Does this mean that there's going to be a blitzball game afterwards?"

This certainly caught Wakka's attention. The newspaper rustled not so obviously. 

"You know it." She caught Rikku's eye for a brief moment, though not for long enough for Lulu to pick up on. 

********** 

The stadium in the newly built Zanarkand was certainly something different. It wasn't that Yuna was surprised, she'd been overlooking the project for months; it's just that the new embracing of machina everywhere she turned was certainly something to get used to. Tidus, walking next to her was looking up toward the top of the towering skyscrapers, shielding his eyes from the sun. 

"Yuna... this is awesome..."

"Buildings so tall, they make you dizzy, right?" She giggled at his expression. 

"Come on!" She grabbed his hand and ran through the surrounding crowds toward the entrance of the stadium, the rest of her guardians close behind. 

Up an elevator and a flight of stairs later, they all made it to the balcony where Yuna would be giving a speech. Rikku was again the one responsible for helping her practice last minute. 

Rikku shooed Tidus and the other guys away from Yuna. "We do this every time and it hasn't failed yet!" 

Yuna smiled. "Yeah, sort of a good luck thing." She looked apologetically at Tidus. 

He waved back at her as he joined up with Wakka and Lulu in the back corner of the balcony. Kimahri was standing in the other corner, next to what looked like a huge pair of scissors. The last time he had seen preparation like this had been when Yuna had given her first speech about Zanarkand in Luca, which seemed like ages ago to him now. _"Thank goodness for Spira and their potions... *none* of that existed in my Zanarkand."_ His hand reflexively went to his side where guado bullets once pierced.

His reverie was interrupted by Lulu, standing next to him. She was looking at him with the strangest look on her face, so Tidus made a weird face back at her. "What?" He asked quizzically. Making sure she was out of earshot from the others, she stepped closer to him and whispered,

"Thanks for making Yuna so happy these last few days, she's been nervous about this Zanarkand project for a very long time."

Tidus didn't quite understand. "Uh... what do you mean?"

Lulu looked between him and Yuna, who was still going over her speech with Rikku, looking like she was trying hard to commit something to memory. "You know what I'm talking about, no need to be embarrassed." She smiled slyly at him. "You are married after all."

Tidus blushed a deep crimson. He thought they'd been careful, but then again, Lulu _was_ a perceptive one. He whispered back to her, "Did you um... hear us at night?"

She shook her head no. 

"... in the mornings?"

She shook her head again.

"Whenever we would..."

Lulu interrupted him before he went any further, putting up a hand to stop him. "Yuna told me after breakfast this morning after I asked what's gotten into her." She laughed a little. "Feisty."

"Lulu!" If possible, he blushed even more. 

"She didn't tell me _that_ much," she put a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down. "You're just fun to tease, just like Wakka said."

Both of them looked back at the red-haired blitzer, one with a smile and the other with a frown. 

"What did I do this time, ya?"

**************

"Ok, Yunie. Tell me the main points again, and you're ready to go."

"Zanarkand is a symbol of a united Spira."

"Why?"

"Everyone and anyone are welcome here." She motioned with her hands.

"More good things?"

"Erasing the myths that come from our previous beliefs about machina, this city can show the true potential for technological advancement here, and in other towns."

Rikku appeared to check off something on her notepad. "Good. And?"

"Blitzball!" Yuna shouted excitedly. 

"What??" Rikku looked at her incredulously. 

"Juuust joking!" She giggled at her cousin who was more serious than she was for a change. "No Zanarkand Abes team... yet, but in the meantime, this new stadium will mean more games that can go on during the season with less scheduling conflicts and more chances for practice sessions for all teams who may not have access to a sphere pool."

"Good! Finish it up!"

"For people who wish for a change of scenery, or those who need low cost housing, this metropolis can certainly accommodate, seeing as it is more than three times the size of Luca; bringing those of different races, backgrounds, and beliefs into one city just as blitzball does when it brings people together from all over Spira." She seemed unsure for a moment. "Or something like that."

Rikku twirled the pencil in her hand, and looked down at the notepad, checking over what was written there. She then looked up at her cousin, who was anxiously waiting for a response. She hugged her tightly. "You'll do fine, Yunie! Don't worry!"

Yuna smiled, and hugged her back. "Thanks Rikku."

Rikku giggled. "Just leave out the 'something like that' part, and you'll be fine." She winked as she stepped away, now that Kimahri signaled to Yuna that it was time. She nodded and walked over to face the people, needing a little bit of help from Kimahri when she tried to pick up the huge pair of scissors one-handed.

***********

The speech was short. Yuna knew the people had heard many of her thoughts on Zanarkand already, from her previous speeches and interviews. That, and she knew that people were very much looking forward to the blitzball game afterward in the brand new sphere pool. 

After her closing sentence about just that, she grasped the scissors with two hands, leaned over the edge of the balcony, and cut the red ribbon that was hanging in front of the ledge. Tumultuous applause from all over the stadium followed. Yuna smiled. This was her dream for Spira coming true, Eternal Calm and all. She looked back at her guardians, and they all gave her the ok, her eyes lingering with Tidus a bit longer than the others. 

He walked toward her, grinning. "That was great Yuna!" He put an arm around her shoulders. "Now, where are our seats for this blitzball game that's about to start up, huh?"

Yuna with a look in her eye he couldn't read, carefully took his arm off her shoulders. "Sorry, you'll have to go without me, Rikku and I have to finish up some things before we can go and join you..." He watched as the cousins made eye contact, like they knew something he didn't. He arched his eyebrows, showing his suspicion. "Ok, girls, " he kissed Yuna quickly on the cheek. "I'll see you later then." 

"Bye Tidus!" Rikku waved excitedly while he walked away with Wakka, Lulu, and Kimahri. 

Yuna waved as well, "Hope he likes our surprise..." She smiled a little more. 

**********

"Wow Bobba! It's barely the middle of the season and we're having an event like this!"

"You said it, Jimma! Announcing the game from ZANARKAND! Who would've thought?!"

"Today, we have the Al Bhed Psyches against the Guado Glories fighting for a place in the next round of the Tournament!"

"Man, Jimma, I'm excited. And I hear, the Psyches have some substitutes for today's game, Lakkam and Blappa are out because of tackle injuries last game."

"Really, Bobba? Maybe we'll see some new talent out there on the field!"

"OH! And here they come!"

The two teams had started swimming toward each other in the sphere pool, Psyches on the right side and Glories on the right. The blonde MF for the psyches touched down on the platform for the blitzoff. 

Up in the stands, Tidus and the other guardians, had a great view, since they were so close up. He eyed the MF, she seemed familiar, though he was sure he didn't know anyone personally on the Psyches...

The blitzer seemed to know what he was thinking, and looked his way. Lifting her goggles over her eyes, she smiled and waved at him.

"WHOA! That's Rikku!" Tidus said in disbelief.

Wakka looked where he was looking. "What's that you say??" 

Lulu looked on in amusement. "Well, if Rikku's there, that must mean..."

Rikku slipped her goggles back on, and pointed back to their LF, who had just swam onto the field. She was wearing yellow and black, and had a white hood...

"YUNA?!" Tidus was beyond surprised now.

Wakka seemed the same way. "HUH?!"

Lulu knew it all along. And by the sound of Kimahri's silence, it seemed he did too. 

"Jimma! It's Grand Maestress Yuna playing left forward for the Psyches!"

"I can't believe it, Bobba! And her guardian Rikku is on the middle forward spot to boot!"

"This is going to be one interesting game, folks."

The game bell rang, and the ball was shot up high in the water. Rikku bolted for it, her speed unmatched by the Guado MF, Auda Guado. During the revelation of the two new Psyches, she had stolen a glance at Tidus as well. The blush hadn't fully gone away. She was brought to her senses as Rikku grabbed the ball above her, and started speeding toward their goal. 

A rush of Glories swam into surround Rikku, but before they could, she threw a quick pass to Berrik, who was open. Yuna was being covered quite well by Noy Guado. Berrik, now the new target of the rush of Glories, wasn't in the position to shoot a goal, considering his distance, and the high CAT of the guado goalie. Knowing about Yuna's time limit underwater, as well as her speed and shooting ability, he kicked the ball up and out of the sphere pool, Yuna soon speeding past Noy's defense and out of the water to follow it. 

She arched her back, the body going through the motions of a sphere kick. With no defenders up in the air with her, the goal was wide open. Once her foot connected with the ball...

"GOOOOOOAL FOR THE PSYCHES!" The buzzer rang, and the Psyches were up 1-0. 

Yuna dove back into the water and was congratulated by the team before they resumed formation for the drive by the Guados. She joined up with Rikku for a double tackle every time they caught up with the ball carrier, though they still needed some work on increasing their ATK power. 

***********

It turned out to be a close match, with the "shoot like crazy" strategy put in place by the Glories in the second half. The Psyches won 4-3, and cheers were echoing around the stadium as the game ended. 

Once Tidus and the others had navigated through the crowds to find the exit, Yuna and Rikku were already waiting for them there, back in their regular clothes with their hair still wet from the game. They both grinned at all of them. 

"So, how'd you like it?" Yuna asked innocently. 

"You played well," Lulu said.

"But you should be more careful, ya? You can't hold your breath that long yet..." Wakka said, a bit worried. 

"I'm nearing three minutes Wakka, but... sorry for making you worry."

"I'm helping her out too! She'll be playing blitz with you guys soon enough." Rikku interjected. 

Yuna looked to Tidus, his opinion was what she really wanted. He seemed to be deep in thought. "Tidus?"

"Yuna. That. Was. **AWESOME**!" He picked her up in his arms and spun her around. She laughed, not expecting him to do such a thing. Putting her back on the ground, he said, "Keep it up, I want to see you play more often."

"Yes sir!" She did a imitation Tidus hand gesture, pumping her left fist in front of her.

All the guardians laughed, that was a familiar sight. Tidus just crossed his arms and let them laugh, the corners of his mouth upturned in a smile. 

**********

After the game, Yuna and Tidus got away from the rest of the guardians to do a little sightseeing on their own. Zanarkand was full of sights and sounds that the people of Spira had never seen before, so the people that had come here for the ceremony and following game were on every street corner, taking in the sights as well. The hustle and bustle everywhere reminded Tidus even more of the Zanarkand he left behind, not that he really missed it all that much anymore.

Yuna seemed to know what he was thinking when she asked him out of the blue, "Do you want to stay here... in Zanarkand?" She was looking up at the tall buildings and indeed getting dizzy.

"Nah... this doesn't really feel like home anymore," he said, looking thoughtful. "Now when I think of home, I think of Besaid."

Yuna stopped looking at the buildings to catch his eyes. "Why?"

He stopped walking, making Yuna stop too. He leaned down and gently kissed her on the lips, catching her by surprise. "That's... where I met you."

Yuna smiled sweetly at him, then laughed and playfully hit him on the shoulder. "You _always_ know exactly what to say!"

Tidus grinned, took her hand, and started to walk again. "But we can always come here to get away... right?" 

"'Get away,' huh?" Yuna asked, a lilt in her voice. She was giving him bedroom eyes, he knew it. 

"Hey, you're the one who built my house here after all..."

Eventually they found their way back to Tidus' house, where they met up with the others, a little later than the time they had agreed on. 

Rikku jumped up in front of Yuna just as she set foot on the welcome mat. "Where have you been?? Dad's been waiting! We've got even _more_ machina lessons to give now that this CITY is here!" She said this ultra fast, so that no one but Yuna, who was used to her cousin's ramblings understood. Tidus swore it was advanced Al Bhed. 

"Sorry Rikku!" She made an apologetic face. 

Rikku calmed down after getting that all out of her system. "It's ok, it's like Dad can ever get mad at _you_..."

Wakka nodded. "She's got a point." 

Lulu had Chappu in her arms, and was giving him a bottle. "Ok, so let's go everyone?"

With that, they all walked out of the house, and touched the sphere just one block down, transporting them up to Cid's airship, and on the way home, to resume daily life. 

***********

Besaid -- A few months later

"So you're not going to join up with that new fangled Zanarkand Abes team that Yuna's given the go-ahead for?" Wakka asked, catching the blitzball from Jassu. Water splashed up at him, as the ball had been thrown a little low to the surface. 

Tidus shook his head. "Nah... I don't know what I'd do if I ever had to play against you guys!" He passed the ball to his left, and Yuna caught it. 

"Well, I don't know, I thought it was a good idea at the time!" She stuck her tongue out at Tidus then passed the ball to her left to Rikku. 

"Since I played that awesome game with the Psyches, you want me on your team now, don't you Wakka?" She grinned and did a no-look pass to Datto right behind her. 

Wakka crossed his arms and looked down at her. "Hmph. Maaaybe." Not being able to hold a serious face for long, he made everyone around him laugh. "We'll have to switch people out a lot more often, but I think we'll deal, ya?"

He noticed Lulu coming out on the beach, with Chappu, and armed with a book to pass the time. He waved, "HEY LU!!" and smiled at her presence. She waved back and took up her usual place under the large tree near the storage hut. 

Botta had swam up to Wakka in this time. "Sorry Cap'n, but I couldn't help but overhear..."

"What is it, brudda?"

"Does that mean that I'm on the bench?"

Wakka gave him a weird look, and laughed heartily. "For the last time, no! If anyone's gonna get switched out, it's gonna be me. And maybe Tidus too. Let's give the other teams a fighting chance, ya?"

Rikku suddenly flew at Wakka and wrapped her arms around his neck in a headlock. "What's that supposed to mean, huh?!"

Yuna laughed and soon followed suit by attempting to dunk his head underwater. "Yeah, Wakka, what _do_ you mean???"

After a few minutes of watching Wakka thrashing about with two girls beating up on him, Tidus decided that this would be a good time to intervene. He pried off the girls one by one, Rikku first with a little difficulty, and Yuna second, letting his hands linger on her waist for quite a bit longer than they needed to. Watching Rikku trying to go at it again, her back facing him, Tidus kissed Yuna on the cheek. "And you call _me_ feisty?"

Yuna elbowed him in the stomach, blushing just a little. "Not in front of everyone, you!" She whispered. 

"Owww..."

Both of them laughed as Lulu began walking towards the water, electricity coming from her fingertips, now that Rikku had managed to grab a hold of Wakka again. 

Yuna ran a hand over Tidus stomach. "Ok, ok, I'm sorry! It wasn't that hard, was it?"

"Yeah, not as hard as when we met here..." He grinned. 

Yuna found it unbelievably hard to resist kissing him then and there. Considering the rest of her companions were preoccupied, no one was really looking. Their lips parted for a moment. "You remember?" she asked, gasping for breath.

"Yeah, this is where I met you again, and that's why this is home." He smiled and brought her in for another kiss. 

Yuna had elbowed him HARD (three times to be exact) the first time she had met him two years after the defeat of Sin. Life during the Eternal Calm had turned into another journey, one with numerous beginnings. And so it ends as it began.

_Every story has an ending. _

~THE END~

************

Author's Note: 

Helloooo... I am back, just to end this thing! And if you don't recognize the name, it's me! Noelle! I didn't want to be stuck with a penname of "Noelle2," so there's the reason behind that. It was a toss up whether to make the "Zanarkand part" a new multi-part sequel or a just a chapter add on, as you see here. If I'm going to start on a new project, I want a clean slate. Possibly something AU. Don't watch for it too soon, I'm still thinking!

During the game, it boggled my mind why you couldn't recruit Rikku for blitzball. She can fight underwater! You can recruit her BROTHER! So that's where that thought came from. 

Oh! Before I forget, the Japanese line up on top is translated to, "I want to journey while smiling." (Or something like that, sounds cooler in Japanese) Our English equivalent is, "I want my journey to be filled with laughter." Hey, that translation team knows what they're doing in some spots! 

BIG THANKS to everyone who has followed this fic with my erratic NON-updating, and has left me nice reviews over the last year and few months or so! This is my first venture into the FFX fanfic world, hope you liked it. 

So, on that note, if you've read this far, please leave a review! Or even better yet, give me a summary of what you think about this fic, good or bad. It'll make me a better writer for future stories. And yes, this *really* is the end, not like my other false alarms. ;-) I'll still be around to review on everyone else's fics!

~Noelle 

September 17, 2003


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